There is an app for that, but mobile phone blackspots are holding Australian farmers back
Many farmers now use apps to control watering systems, monitor their crops and animals and even close gates, but mobile phone blackspots in regional areas are playing havoc with that technology.
When Tasmanian farmer Scott Bowden wants to turn an irrigator on at his farm at Bothwell in the central highlands, he reaches for an app on his mobile phone.
Country mobile phone and internet bandwidth forces residents online in the middle of the night
If the drudgery of your job seems bad, imagine having to wake up at 3:00am to get bookkeeping done, because that is the only time when there is enough bandwidth to process online accounts.
"It's so nice to be able to start and stop a pivot from your phone," Mr Bowden said.
To continue reading the article: click here. (abc.net.au)
Phone tower anxiety is real and we're worrying ourselves sick
Are mobile phones making us sick? Decades of scientific research has found no evidence of any adverse health effects but still the public remains concerned.
Even studies looking at long-term damage, such as brain cancer, have not found evidence of increased harm.
Yet, the debate rages on.
Fuelled by misinformation, scepticism and a complex psychological phenomenon known as the nocebo effect, it's little wonder this contentious issue persists, particularly given wireless technologies are so pervasive.
To continue reading the article: click here. (abc.net.au)
Vodafone looking at fixed wireless alternatives to NBN
Vodafone Australia is exploring the possibility of using the spectrum acquired at last month's auction to provide fixed wireless broadband services that compete with the national broadband network.
Vodafone chief executive Inaki Berroeta said the additional spectrum gave the company extra capacity to provide wireless internet services. But the firm's decision to deploy it would depend on whether the NBN wholesale price stays at current levels.
"The truth is that we are open to that possibility, but it also depends a lot on the way that the NBN develops. And if the NBN provides a good service at a reasonable value, then customers will be better off using NBN," he said.
To continue reading the article: click here. (afr.com)
The new mobile base station at Gresford has been switched on.
The new mobile base station at Gresford has been switched on.
Dr David Gillespie, Federal Member for Lyne, has welcomed the move, delivered under the Priority Round of the Liberal National Government’s $220 million Mobile Black Spot Program.
“It’s fantastic to see that the program is reaching more and more communities across Australia, like Gresford,” Dr Gillespie said.
“This program is delivering much needed new investment in mobile infrastructure across Australia to address mobile coverage issues.
“It will be fantastic for residents and businesses alike.”
To continue reading the article: click here. (dungogchronicle.com.au)
Huawei-made 'small cell' boxes hit suburban Sydney, as residents raise health concerns
Residents of a quiet Sydney suburb are looking for answers from a major telco after it revealed plans to place a number of new telecommunication "small cell boxes" outside their homes without any approval.
In a move that experts say will become more common as Australia prepares itself for the 5G rollout, TPG, in conjunction with China's Huawei, has begun placing the transmitters — roughly the size of two shoe boxes — on power poles across the suburb of Ryde, in Sydney's north-west.
The small cell boxes are used for 4G and mobile services in suburban areas, and are less powerful than the larger telecommunication towers generally used by companies such as Optus and Telstra.
To continue reading the article: click here. (abc.net.au)
NBN Co gives itself until September to cut congested cell numbers
To under one percent.
NBN Co has given itself until September this year to bring the proportion of congested cells on its fixed wireless network down to less than one percent.
The network builder provided the deadline in response to questions from the most recent senate estimates.
Chief network engineering officer Peter Ryan said in April last year that the company had set a goal to reduce the proportion of congested cells on the network from six-to-seven percent down to less than one percent.
To continue reading the article: click here. (itnews.com.au)
NBN Co finds FTTB/C users are its biggest advocates
While satellite users least likely to recommend others sign up.
NBN Co’s fibre-to-the-basement (FTTB) and fibre-to-the-curb FTTC) users are the strongest advocates for the network, with around 7 in 10 recommending others join.
New figures released today show the spectrum of users prepared to advocate others sign up to the NBN, based on the access technology they use.
NBN Co said that low advocacy scores “do not reflect dissatisfaction” but should simply be read on their face value; that is, as the number of users “who have already recommended the network to family, friends or colleagues.”
To continue reading the article: click here. (itnews.com.au)
Optus ramps up network for festive season
Optus says it has been busy ramping up its network in time for the festive season, implementing special event parameters across the country to ensure major shopping centres, holiday hotspots and New Year’s destinations are ready to handle the significant increase in traffic over the period.
“With many of us starting to wind down on what has been another busy year, the Optus Network team are full speed ahead, helping connect our customers with their loved ones over the Christmas period,” the telco says.
To continue reading the article: click here. (itwire.com)
Cotton Australia advocates for connectivity
For people in the city, it’s come to be expected that when you pick up your smart phone you will connect to the internet and make phone calls with the touch of a button. For those in the bush, it’s often a very different story. Patchy phone coverage and unreliable internet can be frustrating and detrimental to rural businesses and livelihoods. This is why it is vitally important Cotton Australia continues to advocate for improved telecommunications connectivity in our cotton valleys.
Australia’s cotton growers are among the most innovative farmers in the world, using new technology – which often requires connection to the internet to function optimally – to hone their operations and be as efficient and sustainable as possible. However, they are the farmers least satisfied with connectivity options, with growers living in one of the many mobile blackspots facing an uphill battle to fully engage with farming, run their office effectively, and tap into educational resources in the digital age, not through any fault of their own.
To continue reading the article: click here. (queenslandcountrylife.com.au)
TPG boss David Teoh's future in the hands of competition watchdog
Notoriously private TPG executive chairman David Teoh is under increased scrutiny over his upcoming mobile network after the competition watchdog's delay in deciding whether to block a planned merger with Vodafone Hutchison Australia.
In what has become one of the most discussed events in telecommunications this year, industry executives are quietly speculating whether a fourth Australian mobile network will be possible should the deal be blocked, with new headwinds facing the rollout first announced by Mr Teoh in 2017.
To continue reading the article: click here. (smh.com.au)
