Broadband News
Tue, 07th Jul 2020
Optus looks to spend $1.5m on transportable 4G small cells
Optus is set to invest $1.5 million in a fleet of transportable small cells that are lighter and easier to deploy in disaster zones than the telco’s current fleet of satellite cells on trailers or SatCats.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN launches satellite backup for business customers
The company responsible for deploying the National Broadband Network (NBN) across Australia has launched a satellite backup service for business services.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Australia linked to Japan and the US via new submarine cable system
Australia has been linked up to the Japan-Guam-Australia North Cable System (JGA North) with a 24 terabits per second (Tbps) connection.
Source: ARN
Mon, 06th Jul 2020
Optus, Telstra to build 21 new mobile towers in regional NSW
Telstra and Optus will build 21 new mobile phone towers in southern NSW using a $50 million fund established by the state government to improve internet connectivity in under-served regions.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co will have 22,000 premises still awaiting infrastructure after this year
NBN Co is now forecasting it will only have around 21,800 brownfields premises unable to connect to its network post-2020.
Source: iTnews Australia
Sun, 05th Jul 2020
Australia's broadband network in a diabolical position after 'completion', says expert
An academic, who was part of the advisory panel for the NBN for the Labor Party, says Australia is now in a diabolical position as far as its broadband network goes, despite all the self-congratulatory rhetoric about how the network has been delivered on time and how it is holding up under the strain of extra traffic due to people working from home.
Source: iTWire
Thu, 02nd Jul 2020
Telstra gets two more years to upgrade or sell its residential fibre networks
Users in Telstra fibre areas face up to two more years with limited retail choices and service quality issues after the government decided Telstra could stay exempt from rules that would otherwise force it to make its fibre areas wholesale only and open access.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus signs contract for Ku-band sixth satellite to launch in 2023
Australian telco Optus announced on Thursday it has signed a deal with Airbus Defence and Space for a new OneSat satellite, that will be known as Optus 11, which is set to cover Australasia when it is launched in 2023.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Optus commits to digital core upgrade
Optus is set to upgrade its core business systems to SAP’s S/4 HANA, creating a “digital core” that could help it enable new capabilities at the edge like predictive maintenance for cellular towers.
Source: iTnews Australia
Woolies hit with AU$1 million spamming fine
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has hit Woolworths Group with a fine of AU$1,003,800, the largest it has handed down, due to five million breaches of the Spam Act 2003 made between October 2018 and July 2019.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Vodafone joins NBN 250 and Ultrafast club
Vodafone is the latest RSP to give customers the option of NBN Co's recently announced 250Mbps and 500-1000Mbps services.
Source: iTWire
TransACT builder says best option for NBN is to remain in government hands
The best way forward for the national broadband network is for it to remain in government hands and be managed for strategic advantage, rather than commercial gain, a network expert has told iTWire.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 01st Jul 2020
NBN now obligated to provide a minimum 25Mbps connection to Australians
With the calendar shifting to July, the Statutory Infrastructure Provider (SIP) obligations on NBN have entered into force.
Source: ZDNet Australia
New legislation ‘guarantees’ broadband access for all Australians, says Government
New legislation has just come into force in Australia, enshrining in law access to broadband services for all Australians regardless of where they live, and which the Federal Government says "guarantees" broadband access for everyone.
Source: iTWire
Aussie Broadband board gets pre-IPO makeover
RSP Aussie Broadband has appointed a new chair and two replacement directors.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 30th Jun 2020
MyRepublic is the latest telco to sell an NBN 250 plan
MyRepublic has followed Aussie Broadband and Superloop in launching an NBN 250 plan, making it one of the few telcos offering customers plans with speeds that faster than 100Mbps.
Source: WhistleOut
NBN Co expects to sustain some of its traffic uplift
NBN Co is expecting to sustain some of the uplift in the amount of traffic running across its network post-COVID, a prediction that could make it harder for the company to completely wind back bandwidth bonuses laid on since March.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra ditches 5G fee for users not on lowest tier plan
The prospect of users having to pay AU$15 a month for 5G access on the Telstra network,
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra sets $65 a month as minimum spend to get 5G access
Telstra is set to reshape the way it sells 5G services once a year-long free trial wraps up today.
Source: iTnews Australia
Optus runs mmWave 5G tests in Sydney
Optus is testing 5G millimetre wave (mmWave) technology at four locations in Sydney, months after suggesting the technology could bring speeds in excess of 20Gbps.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telco credit assessments under scrutiny by ACMA
Australia’s telecommunications regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) says a study it commissioned shows telco in-store sales staff may not be adequately checking that customers have the capacity to pay for the services they are purchasing.
Source: iTWire
Telstra announces ‘major refresh’ of T22 mobile plans, new pricing
Telstra has launched a range of new “radically simplified” post-paid mobile plans which it says will give consumer and small business customers data increase of up to 30GB, as part of a refresh of its T22 strategy which was introduced last year in a move aimed at simplifying the telco’s operations and product sets, improving customer experiences and reducing its cost base.
Source: iTWire
Mon, 29th Jun 2020
Matt spent $11,000 to get an upgraded NBN connection, then his neighbours connected to it for free
Sick of his internet dropping out, software developer Matt Hall paid to have the NBN to his home upgraded. He didn't realise that he was also paying for his neighbours to get cheap access.
Source: ABC News
Department of Finance dismisses idea of discretionary NBN write-down
The Department of Finance has attempted to pour cold water on the idea of writing down the value of the National Broadband Network, stating that any movements in value are dictated by accounting standards.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co may have its costs examined in the back half of 2020
NBN Co could wind up having its costs examined in more detail in the back half of the year following a call by Telstra for greater scrutiny.
Source: iTnews Australia
Fri, 26th Jun 2020
COVID has shown Australian broadband can handle working from home: Dept of Comms
The performance of Australia's networks during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly the National Broadband Network, has shown the network itself is not the issue for remote working to continue once pandemic restrictions are lifted, a departmental official said on Friday.
Source: ZDNet Australia
ACMA calls on Facebook, Google, Twitter to develop Australian misinformation code
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) wants digital platforms to work together on the development of a single, industry-wide code of conduct to counter misinformation, centred on the consumer.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Thu, 25th Jun 2020
TPG closes in on Singapore 5G ambitions with mmWave allocation
After missing out on claiming 3.6 GHz mobile band spectrum in Singapore, Australian telco TPG has picked up mmWave spectrum, a move set to see it roll out 5G services across the city state.
Source: ARN
Australians’ data demand on NBN increases during COVID-19
Data demand on the NBN’s main wholesale access service continues to reflect Australians’ reliance on the network to keep them connected and working productively during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report.
Source: iTWire
Wed, 24th Jun 2020
Vodafone Hutchison Australia to become TPG Telecom on Monday
The name Vodafone Hutchison Australia is not long for this world after TPG shareholders approved the merger of the two telcos on Wednesday.
Source: ZDNet Australia