Broadband News
Mon, 23rd Mar 2020
YouTube, Amazon Prime forgo streaming quality to relieve European networks
YouTube and Amazon Prime will sacrifice streaming quality in the EU to help avert internet gridlock as tens of millions of Europeans, confined by the coronavirus outbreak, switch to working from home.
Source: iTnews Australia
New NBN connections added by up to 40,000 weekly
Thirty thousand to 40,000 additional connections are being made every week to the National Broadband Network as the rollout of the network continues.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 20th Mar 2020
Telstra brand hijacked as coronavirus-themed scams hit Aussies
Telstra is among the local companies whose brands have been hijacked by online scammers trying to make a buck from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Source: ARN
Telstra pauses job cuts for six months, to hire 1000 extra call centre staff
Staff at Telstra on the chopping block as part of its aggressive T22 restructuring plan have been granted a six-month reprieve to complement economic stimulus efforts in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra halts redundancies for 6 months amid COVID-19 pandemic
Telstra has frozen its headcount reduction program for six months as the coronavirus pandemic creates unprecedented demand on its network and services.
Source: ARN
Coronavirus response sees Telstra pause job cuts for six months
Telco to hire 1,000 temporary call centre workers in Australia and bring forward AU$500 million of 5G network spend.
Source: ZDNet Australia
NBN Co to suspend half-price internet for 'first timers' offer
NBN Co is set to suspend its offer of half-price internet for a year for long-term holdouts to its network, citing bad timing as the cause.
Source: iTnews Australia
Thu, 19th Mar 2020
Internet infrastructure under strain as COVID-19 hits
Internet infrastructure has experienced significant growth in demand and is being strained due to the increased amount of people confined to their home because of the coronavirus pandemic, consequently working and shopping remotely due to the enforced precautionary measures, according to a new report.
Source: iTWire
NBN Co's fair value estimated at just $8.7 billion
NBN Co has been estimated by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) to have a fair value - or saleable value - of just $8.7 billion at the end of June 2019, a bit less than one-third of the equity the government put into it.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 18th Mar 2020
TIO continues to receive phone, Internet complaints as COVID-19 forces home working
There’s no letup in the work of the telecommunications consumer protection agency, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, despite the coronavirus crisis forcing its own workers to work from home like millions of other Australians.
Source: iTWire
NBN resellers get capacity boost to deal with demand surge
NBN Co will waive charges for additional capacity of up to 40 per cent to RSPs for at least three months in a move aimed at helping resellers cope with a surge in demand amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Source: ARN
NBN Co offers up to 40 percent bandwidth boost to internet providers
NBN Co will ease any temporary burden on internet providers in the next few months caused by an anticipated upswell in people working from home by waiving charges for up to 40 percent extra bandwidth.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN to skip TCP/IP overprovisioning for 1Gbps plans
Users of Australia's government-owned national broadband wholesaler are set to receive up to 15% extra layer 2 capacity so that the tests the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) run at layer 7 can match the speeds claimed by internet service providers (ISPs).
Source: ZDNet Australia
Tue, 17th Mar 2020
TPG, Vodafone moving telephone support to remote ops
Australian telcos are rejigging their customer support models in response to the coronavirus pandemic, ranging from TPG and Vodafone moving telephone support remotely to others disabling live chat.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co braces for data surges as Australians socially isolate
NBN Co is facing increased pressure on its network as the COVID-19 pandemic sees thousands of Australians work from home.
Source: ARN
NBN Co should pause capacity charges to prevent coronavirus congestion
Amid an increasing number of Australians working from home and social-distancing, NBN Co needs to ensure the National Broadband Network stays congestion free.
Source: WhistleOut
Vodafone promises COVID-19 pandemic relief in the form of bonus data, unlimited calls and data-free access
On Friday a Vodafone representative said the company was monitoring the situation, and today changed its official stance offering bonus data, unlimited calls, and unrestricted access to a variety of official health websites.
Source: WhistleOut
Mon, 16th Mar 2020
NBN Co faces price flex test as more people work from home
NBN Co is facing pressure from some quarters to act in anticipation of a large number of Australians that could wind up working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra follows Optus with extra mobile data in virus response
Telstra will follow Optus in providing between 10GB and 25GB of extra data for mobile subscribers, aimed at assisting those working from home or isolating over COVID-19 fears.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra makes all home broadband plans unlimited in response to coronavirus
Australia's incumbent telco, Telstra, announced on Monday afternoon it was giving all of its home broadband customers unlimited data until the end of April. The data boost covers customers on the National Broadband Network, ADSL, and cable customers and is set to begin on Thursday, March 19.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Labor calls for telcos to get capacity relief if NBN becomes congested
The Labor Party has called for retail telecommunications providers to be considered for temporary capacity charge relief, in the event NBN speeds become congested as COVID19 leads more employees and children to use the internet from home.
Source: iTWire
Optus offers free data to keep you connected during quarantine
Of the three Australian telcos, Optus are the first to offer additional services in relation to Covid-19. Neither Vodafone, nor Telstra are offering virus-specific assistance for customers at this time.
Source: WhistleOut
Belong will no longer sell NBN 100 plans to FTTN or FTTB customers
NBN customers on FTTN or FTTB connections will no longer be able to buy top-speed plans from Belong.
Source: WhistleOut
Fri, 13th Mar 2020
Optus offers extra mobile data as COVID-19 drives up remote work
Optus is set to give its mobile customers one-off data quota boosts in April in preparation for what could be a large increase in the number of Australians working remotely due to COVID-19 fears.
Source: iTnews Australia
New Zealand blitzes high-end broadband affordability
The New Zealand Commerce Commission (ComCom) has found the nation's 900Mbps broadband plans are well below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average price for such plans, while otherwise, New Zealand pays more for its broadband than the OECD average.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra takes $10 off most plan prices
Telstra is taking $10 off its monthly, top-end plan fees for twelve months, putting Australia’s largest network in the grasp of more Australians.
Source: WhistleOut
Thu, 12th Mar 2020
Pick up a half-priced Pixel 4 with Vodafone
Prices for the Pixel 4 have absolutely plummeted this week, with Vodafone dropping the handset costs by 50%.
Source: WhistleOut
Tue, 10th Mar 2020
NBN Co warns against scams
NBN Co has warned that scammers are increasing their efforts to use the NBN brand to steal people’s personal or financial details, with over 180,000 people contacting the builder of the National Broadband Network to report a scam over the six months to December 2019.
Source: iTWire
Federal Court rules Telstra does not need council permission to build payphones
Telstra is allowed to build new payphone cabinets across the country without needing to gain permission from city councils, the Federal Court has ruled.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 09th Mar 2020
A new wave of 5G to hit Australia
Australians will get an early taste of 5G's full potential when Telstra launches the country's first "millimetre wave" 5G customer trials mid-year, which will see boosted mobile broadband speeds and reduced peak hour network traffic jams.
Source: SMH