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My ZDNet buddy Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols just published his expert picks for best live-streaming TV services. He looked at AT&T TV, FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Philo, Sling TV, and YouTube TV. Each of these services provides some set of channels over broadband for a fixed monthly fee. Some offer DVR capabilities, so you can time-shift shows you like to watch. Steven (and presumably a lot of other folks) like the live TV offerings.

I am not a fan. I am a former YouTube TV and Sling TV customer because during election years, I like watching live channels to binge watch election returns. I love the charts. I love the graphs. I love the animated winner cards. Because I signed up for YouTube TV a couple of years ago and Sling TV for this last election cycle, I had some time to get to know both of the services. I found them clunky and unpleasant. YouTube TV seemed to do its best to emulate everything bad about the traditional cable company set top box interface. Sling TV (which was terrible when it first came out) got quite a bit better over the years, until it became tolerable. Both had the typical TV channel programming grid. Both also had basic recording capabilities. But after years of watching commercial free TV completely on-demand, I found the live TV services to be uncomfortable and unpleasant. I didn’t like the inability to watch what I wanted, when I wanted.

Since the dawn of time, over-the-air and cable live TV has always been “appointment TV,” where you’re expected to have tush-in-couch at a specific time. Yes, you can set up the DVR to record for later watching, but if you want to watch something right now, you’re at the whims of the programming grid. The streaming live TV services emulate this, also expecting you to watch whatever programs are on at a given time (but you can plan ahead and time shift with the DVR). If you want live TV, don’t let me stop you. But I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a moment to sing the praises of commercial-free video on demand. The joy of commercial-free TV To be fair, going commercial free (for services like Paramount+, Hulu, and YouTube) is an extra fee. But, boy is it worth it. I didn’t realize how much it was worth until I was forced back into the traditional TV commercial milieu and had to endure commercials — often 20 minutes or more of every hour of TV watched. Let’s look at the economics and I’ll come back to the benefits in a minute. My wife and I subscribe to Netflix, Paramount+, Disney+, Hulu, and HBOMax. We get Prime Video free as part of our Prime membership, so I’m not counting that in our video-on-demand budget. If we were to subscribe to these services with commercials, our monthly cost would be $48.96. Keep in mind, we don’t have a cable TV bill. We only watch these streaming services. We actually pay ten bucks more each month, because Paramount+ costs an extra four dollars and Hulu costs an extra six dollars each month to go commercial-free. That extra ten dollars is worth it. The shows are so much more pleasant to watch without the commercials. Plus, I can get a little more actual TV watching in what little available free time I have. Some weeks, I have so little free time, it seems ludicrous to just fritter it away watching ads I don’t want or need to see anyway. Now, I’m aware this is both a first-world problem and the privilege of someone who can afford the extra ten bucks a month. But, after getting commercial-free TV for so long, I’d rather drop a service than forego commercial-free TV. These subscriptions are so easy to stop and start that you don’t need to subscribe to everything at once. For example, if Father Brown gets another season, we’ll fire up BritBox again for a month or so in order to binge watch the series. Then, there’s YouTube. Our most recent gift to ourselves is YouTube Premium. I signed up in October when the constant (and incredibly annoying) ads of a local pol started to stress me out. Initially, I ponied up for the $11.99/mo program, but once my wife saw how pleasant it was to watch YouTube videos without ads, we upped our plan to the $17.99 family plan.

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The best streaming services for live TV

There are two kinds of paid streaming services: Live TV, such as Sling TV and YouTubeTV, and video-on-demand, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Here’s what to look for in live TV packages.

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I cannot emphasize how — yeah, I’ll use the word “wonderful” — how wonderful YouTube can be without the banner, pre-roll, and interstitial ads. All told, if you add in our cost for YouTube Premium, we pay a total of $27.99 more for our video-on-demand to be commercial free. Instead of $48.96 with ads, we pay $76.95 per month for ad-free. That’s still a lot less than we paid to our cable company when we paid for old-fashioned cable TV. We paid at least $135 per month for cable. YouTube TV alone (the live TV service, not the ad free service) is $65. I just can’t see paying $65 for video that only comes on when it wants to and is full of commercials when, for about ten bucks more a month, I can watch everything I want, any time I want, commercial free. Yes, some of the other live TV services are less expensive. But you’re still stuck with time shifting and commercials. If you’re a big sports fan or you like watching your local news, you may need the live TV services. But I’m happy with video on demand — at least until the first primary election night in 2024. Look, I’m not saying you have to fling down the extra bucks to go commercial free. What I’m saying is that it’s very nice. My recommendation, if you have the budget, is to go commercial free for all your streaming services for just a month and see what it’s like. For this test, also spring for YouTube Premium. That way you’ll get the full experience. Sure, of course you can go back to commercials. But once you see how nice it can be, I’m guessing you won’t want to. What about you? Are you a big live TV watcher? What streaming services do you use? Have you gone fully commercial-free? Now that you know more about it, do you think you will? Let us know in the comments below. You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.

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Singtel has unveiled a new product that it says will provide a 5G network environment anywhere, with an available power source, ion which enterprise customers can deploy and test their apps. Tucked inside a suitcase-sized container, the “portable 5G platform” will eliminate the need for these organisations to access an actual 5G network to do so. It would allow organisations to experience 5G capabilities and test use cases on-site, in their own premises, Singtel said in a statement Monday. It also could be tapped to facilitate events that required temporary 5G networks, such as hackathons, the telco said. Genie comprised a 5G network control kit as well as a standing mount with 5G radio antenna. It could be installed within an hour and powered by a standard electrical outlet. It would need access to a window to establish its location via GPS, according to Singtel. The box also was equipped with a 4G modem, so custom configurations could be pushed through the telco’s core 5G standalone network and deployed to Genie according to the customer’s specs and requirements. Once this was implemented in the initial setup, all data during the test then would be processed within the box itself. This meant that any device connecting to the apps on Genie could do so without any data leakage or security risk. In other words, tests would operate like they would in a private local network. 

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A Singtel spokesperson told ZDNet the box was built using Ericsson’s networking equipment and would provide the full experience and operational traits of a working 5G network. The Singapore telco is working with Ericsson to deploy its local 5G network. When asked, the spokesperson said the carrier had prepared “a few boxes” that were ready for use and planned to build more based on interest from the ground. It added that Genie could be assembled “quickly” with the help of Ericsson. He added that the box was available for free to Singtel customers, which would be given access for up to two weeks. 

The box also was built to work with the telco’s 5G Multi-access Edge Compute (MEC) network, so enterprise customers could trial ultra-low latency applications indoors. These could include Industry 4.0 applications such as autonomous robots used in a smart factory, augmented reality, and drones.”Without the need for prior installation of equipment or infrastructure, Genie creates an independent 5G network at any location where it is deployed and is suitable for enterprises that want to conduct trials but don’t yet have a 5G network,” Singtel said. The telco’s vice president of 5G enterprise and cloud, Dennis Wong, said most organisations still were unfamiliar with how their operations could benefit from 5G technology. With access to such capabilities on their premises, Genie could enable businesses to quickly validate their applications with their partners or verify the performance of their use cases, without any installation cost, Wong said.”The platform is particularly useful for large enterprises that need to test 5G before they decide to invest in their own dedicated network,” he noted. “Seeing what 5G can do in their own premises will help more enterprises adopt 5G and speed up their digital transformation.”RELATED COVERAGE More

There are two kinds of paid streaming services: Live TV (such as Sling TV and YouTubeTV) and video-on-demand (such as Netflix and Amazon Prime). Here’s what to look for in live TV packages.Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve spent more time than ever watching TV at home. You might think that would be good news for the cable companies, Nope. More people than ever are dumping cable and satellite TV for streaming. People want to save money. At the same time, though, 60% of viewers are paying for both cable TV and one or more streaming channels. That’s because they want both their regular channels and fresh, new offerings from video-on-demand (VoD) streaming services such as Paramount+’s Star Trek: Discovery, Disney+’s The Mandalorian, and Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit. Guess what? With today’s streaming services you can have the best of both worlds. There are two kinds of streaming: The first, and oldest, is VoD, from such providers as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. Increasingly, there are free, with commercials, VoD services such as Crackle, Peacock, and Pluto TV. Then, there are the live TV streaming services including AT&T Now, Philio, and Sling TV. Combine them and you can get all your old channels and fresh new shows for less money than you’re paying your cable or satellite TV provider today. With no further adieu, let’s first take a look at the best live TV streaming services.

AT&T customers may like it, others should keep looking

As a long-time DirecTV satellite customer, I wanted to like AT&T TV. I couldn’t. Technically, it’s become better over the years, but its offerings and price have only got poorer. In the early days, it came with a great price: 100 channels for $35 a month. That’s far from the case these days. Today, AT&T TV’s packages are on the pricey side. Entertainment comes with 65+ channels and 40,000 Video on Demand (VoD) titles for $70; Choice with 90+ channels and 45,000 VoD selections for $85; Ultimate with 130+ channels and 55,000 VoD selections for $95; and Premier with 140+ channels and 65,000 VoD shows for $140. All the choices offer access to local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC channels in most, but not all, areas.  Except for the bottom-tier Entertainment offering, all packages come with regional sports networks and HBO Max. Until recently AT&T TV included a generous 500 hours of cloud DVR storage. Now, it offers a mere 20 hours of video storage. You can get unlimited DVR storage for an additional $10 a month. You can also get limitless storage if you elect to get the Premier package. In either case, if you want to skip or fast-forward through commercials on recorded shows, that will cost you another $15  a month.  On the other hand, you can stream up to 20 — yes 20 — devices simultaneously on your home network. When you’re away from home, you can stream to up to three devices.  The two-year contract offers the same services for $10 less a month per package. It’s not a great deal. It also, shades of old-style cable companies, comes with a penalty charge if you decide AT&T TV isn’t for you.If you’re an AT&T phone or internet customer, you may want to subscribe to this service, but the rest of us can do better. It simply costs too much for too little. The only exception is if you have a large family and you can actually use up to 20 streams at once. Otherwise, the new AT&T TV reminds me too much of old cable services. 

View Now at AT&T

Are you ready for some football? Then check out FuboTV

Are you a serious sports fan? And when I say “serious,” I mean besides watching the US favorite trilogy of football, basketball, and baseball, do you want to watch the English Premier League, F1 Racing, and cricket? Yes? Then, you should check out FuboTV. That said, FuboTV has some holes in its lineup. For example, it no longer carries TNT and TBS, both of which show a lot of sports. It also doesn’t currently include the Fox regional sports networks. Still, if your sporting tastes run to European sports, you’ll find a lot to like here. Besides sports, FuboTV is a full-fledged streaming service with all the usual stations. It comes with two basic English-language plans. The first, Starter, has 112 channels and 250 hours of video DVR storage, and you can stream to up to three screens at once for $65 a month. This comes with a free trial. The other, Elite, currently offers 157 channels, 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage, and up to 10 screens for $80 a month.  Both plans offer your local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC channels in many places. Another nice feature is you can fast-forward or skip commercials on your recorded shows.  For those who like Spanish-language sports and TV, there’s the Latino Quarterly offering. This costs $33 a month for 32 channels, three simultaneous streams, and 250 hours of DVR space. Put it all together, and you have the best streaming service for European soccer fans and other non-mainstream US sports. Personally, I’d like to see them add Willow TV, the cricket-specific streaming service, but that’s a small matter unless you’re a serious cricket fan. FuboTV is also a good, general-purpose streaming service in its own right.    

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Combination live TV and VoD service

Hulu with Live TV’s big selling point is it’s the one service, which combines both live TV and a video-on-demand (VoD). It’s a powerful package. Besides great original content, such as exclusive titles like The Handmaid’s Tale, it also has a large catalog of other on-demand shows and movies. On top of that, you get over 65+ live and on-demand channels. Its channel selection has some blanks in it. Some favorites such as the AMC, the CW channels Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and VH1 are only available in extra-price add-ons. On the other hand, basic sports are well covered with the ESPN and Fox sports networks. Like most of the other services, it gives you access to local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC channels in most areas. Hulu with Live TV’s interface and performance have been consistently improving over the years. I find it the easiest live TV service to use. Hulu with Live TV’s combination of on-demand video and live TV is nice, but it now costs $65 a month. For that, you can also stream two sessions at once and get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage. If you want more, for $10 a month you get 200 hours of cloud storage. With this Enhanced Cloud DVR, you can also record multiple shows at the same time, and fast-forward through any content in your DVR. For another $10 a month, you can play as many streams at once. But, unlike the other services, you can’t easily stream outside your home. As Hulu puts it, “Our Live TV plans are intended for single-home use.” Now, you can stream away from home on your smartphone, but if you try to stream on saying your dad’s Roku, you’ll find it won’t work. Finally, if all you want is Hulu VoD streaming, it’s still available. The cheapest version of the ad-supported streaming library is only $6 a month. The no-ads version is also available for $11.99.Until recently, I’d recommend Hulu + Live TV for most people. But, with its added costs, I think you should look at its offerings and its rivals before paying for a subscription. 

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Philo offers the best, cheap streaming TV deal

Short on cash? Not all that interested in sports? If that’s you, then Philo is the service you want. For only $20 a month, you get 64 channels.But you won’t get any local or sports channels. Still, if you like popular entertainment and lifestyle shows with just enough news — BBC World News and Cheddar News — to keep you informed, Philo is well worth checking out.If you like movies, Philo has also started offering the Epix ($6 a month) and Starz ($9 a month) movie channels.  Philo also boasts exceptional DVR capabilities. Most Philo’s channel TV shows and movies are available on-demand for 72-hours after their first live airing. It also gives you unlimited DVR storage. Once stored, however, you’ll only have a month to watch the shows. Still, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for unlimited storage. You can also fast-forward your way through your saved shows. The service also enables you to watch three different streams at the same time. If you go over that, the oldest stream stops working.Philo may not offer some popular networks, especially sports, but you can’t beat the price and its cloud DVR functionality is second to none. For what it offers, I quite like Philo. 

$20 at Philo

Oldest and in many ways still the best live TV service

Sling TV has an ala carte approach to channels that separates it from its competitors. While the others tend to offer only one or two packages, Sling TV offers two basic packages — Blue and Orange — and a wide variety of packages bundling up to a dozen-related channels.This is a mixed blessing. I like it because it lets me get only the channels I want while it’s also a tad confusing. It starts with two $35-per-month channel packages. Some channels are available on both Sling Orange, over 30 channels, and Sling Blue, over 45 channels. Orange is basically an ESPN/Disney package, while Blue offers a Fox/NBC package. Your best deal, if you want a broad selection of channels, is to combine them for $50.What you won’t get though are local CBS and PBS channels. For those, Sling TV urges you to use an over-the-air (OTA) antenna. Indeed, Sling TV has its own streaming devices, AirTV 2 and AirTV Mini, to watch both Sling TV and your local channels. I’ve used and liked them both. If you already have an antenna, you can buy them by themselves. If you need an antenna, Sling TV offers them as a bundle with an indoor HD antenna. This currently costs $49. Sling TV’s packages, besides such common offerings as Showtime channels, cost from $6 or $10 monthly. For example, the $10 Sports Extra comes with 15 channels including NBA TV, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, NHL Network, and several college sports networks. It also offers a personal favorite, Willow Cricket, for $10 a month. While the $6 Hollywood Extra offers seven channels including — for my way of thinking — the essential Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and ReelZ. Sling TV’s recently upgraded its cloud DVR from a very limited 10 hours of recording time to a much more reasonable 50 hours. If you want more, you can up to 200 hours of storage for an additional $5 a month. You can fast-forward through commercials with this service.Your streaming options are… interesting. Sling Orange only lets you stream one channel at a time, while Sling Blue allows for three. If you get the package, you can stream four shows at once. Finally, if you want non-English channels, Sling TV is better than all the others combined. It includes numerous Asian and European language offerings. It also offers Arabic and Brazilian Portuguese. Personally, I’ve liked Sling TV since it pioneered live TV streaming back in 2016. I like the interface, I like its speed, and I like that I can pick and choose my channels so I get just what I want. Its combined Blue and Orange price is still below that of its main competitors. For my money, Sling TV is today’s best streaming service. 

View Now at Sling TV

The most channel choices and a great DVR

I used to love Google’s YouTube TV, and I still like it a lot. But there’s this one not-so-little problem: The price tag. At $65 a month, YouTube TV is starting to close in on cable prices.That said, there’s a lot to love here. With over 85 channels, it offers more of the most popular channels than its competitors. It also enables you to watch not only your local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC channels in most areas, but your local PBS stations as well. By CNET’s count, out of the top 100 networks, YouTube TV offers the most of them, 78, of any streaming service. The service also just added its first add-on package: The $11 a month Sports Plus package. This includes NFL RedZone, Fox College Sports, GolTV, and Fox Soccer Plus.YouTube TV unquestionably has the best cloud DVR. It comes with unlimited storage and a generous nine months to watch recordings. You can stream up to three simultaneous shows at once. And, yes, you can zoom by commercials on your recorded shows as well. If it wasn’t for the price, I could easily recommend YouTubeTV for everyone. As it is, if you’re not hurting for money, it’s still an excellent choice.

$65 at YouTube TV

Additional points to considerCost and streaming device

Back in 2009, when I first cut the cable cord, I saved over $100 a month and still got to watch all my shows. Just over 10 years later, my internet video streaming bills are closing in on cable TV-level bills. Why? Internet streaming is copying the tired, old cable business models. Almost all the live TV services saw price increases in 2020, and I expect we’ll see even higher bills in 2021. Sure, the delivery technology is different. Instead of a set-top box, you use a streaming device, such as my own favorite, the 2020 Roku Ultra. Or you can just buy high-end TVs with full-featured streaming built-in. But the bills are increasingly getting closer. That said, you can still save money. Broadband internet

To make use of any of these services, you’ll need broadband internet. If you’re living on your own, you may be able to get by with as little as 10Mbp. If you’re sharing your home with others and/or you want to watch 4K videos, I recommend you have at least a 25Mbps internet connection. Not sure how fast your connection is? Run the Ookla Speedtest.And, by the way, you won’t lose anything by switching from a cable box to a Roku or Amazon Fire TV 4K stick. The only real difference between conventional cable and internet TV is that live streaming sports lag 15 seconds to a minute behind live broadcasts.Features and channels are subject to changeYou should realize that these services’ pricing, channel lineup, DVR capabilities, and how many streams you can watch at one time are all subject to change. They’re also the most important factors to consider before subscribing to a service. So, even if one service sounds perfect for you, go directly to its site and make sure that you’re still getting what I’m describing.For the most part, all of these support the most popular streaming devices. For example, no matter which service you subscribe to, an Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Cube, Roku Express, or Google Chromecast will almost certainly support it. But if you’re using a more obscure streaming gadget, such as an Nvidia Shield TV Pro, it might not work with your preferred service. Smart TVs also frequently don’t support newer streaming offerings. The moral: Before subscribing make sure the service will work with your hardware. Fortunately, most of these services give you a free seven-day trial period. Before signing up for a trial though check the fine print. You don’t want to end up paying for a service that doesn’t work for you. Besides these factors, most of these services offer a variety of premium channels for additional fees. To see which services offer what channels at any given moment, check the service’s site.How to choose the right service for youEveryone has different needs. Here are my thoughts on which service is best for who.Best all-around: Sling TV, with YouTube TV right behind it. If you like storing movies and series for watching later, YouTube TV takes the lead.Best for a budget: Philo easily gives you the most for the least money.Best all-in-one live TV and VoD: Hulu + Live TV is the only contender.Soccer and other European sports fans: FuboTVAT&T Customer: AT&T TV

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Optus Pause: It starts with no
Image: Optus
Customers of Optus will soon have the ability to pause the very product they are paying for — telecommunications connectivity. The telco has said the functionality available in its My Optus app will allow “our customers the freedom to ensure they enjoy the time that matters most”. Switching off connectivity will be per device, with a timed period of unconnectedness. “Optus is pioneering digital and customer innovation through a ‘one click’ solution that works across mobile and home WiFi connections; across Optus connected services and all devices connected via WiFi on Optus NBN plans with the latest Optus supplied modems, on the same account and household,” Optus vice president of TV, content, and product development Clive Dickens said. “We’ve listened to our customers who’ve asked us to develop a product that gave them a right to disconnect.” The telco said it would be rolling out the feature progressively to customers. Customers of a certain supermarket-branded MVNO that uses the Optus network might feel like they have had a preview of the feature for years already.

On Wednesday, Optus claimed it reached a new 5G speed record with 10Gbps aggregated through a live 5G site. Telstra retorted that it had hit 20Gbps over the weekend. “Congratulations to Optus but, unfortunately, it’s not a new record,” a Telstra spokesperson said. Related Coverage More

T-Mobile launched its Home Internet service that aims to use 5G as a broadband competitor to cable. The service also happens to be a handy home office option. At its latest Uncarrier event, T-Mobile outlined services designed to deliver the growth targets outlined on its most recent investor day. Specifically, T-Mobile is enticing customers to swap 4G phones for 5G capable Samsung Galaxy A52 devices for free. It is also making a push into rural areas. But for small businesses and remote workers — basically most of us given the COVID-19 pandemic — T-Mobile Home Internet is also a home office play.

100Mbps speeds | Unlimited data | 4G/5G home gateway

T-Mobile is offering T-Mobile Home Internet for $60 a month with automatic payment, speeds of 100Mbps for new customers, unlimited data, and a 4G/5G gateway for the home.Now T-Mobile is clearly pitching Home Internet as a broadband replacement and a way to expand its base. I think there’s also likely to be a stealthy home office play, too.Why?Remote workers are battling for network bandwidth with remote students, partners also working, and streaming video that may make your meeting connections lumpy.For some subset of the market, a $60 T-Mobile Home Internet plan may be an add-on to ensure bandwidth connectivity.

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Michael Katz, executive vice president of T-Mobile for Business, said the company is looking to target enterprise, public sector, and SMBs. Katz highlighted how T-Mobile’s home office internet product is designed so enterprises can provide employees with in-office connectivity when working remote.In other words, T-Mobile Home Internet may be an SMB and home office option as well as something large companies may expense for you. What remains to be seen is whether T-Mobile Home Internet becomes a competitor to broadband providers or a complementary addition for redundancy.

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Optus has achieved 10Gbps aggregated throughput on a live 5G site, which it touted is a “new 5G record”. The test used Nokia networking equipment and was performed in Strathpine, Brisbane, Optus said. The 50Gbps speed was recorded by aggregating Optus’ 5G spectrum bands of 3500Mhz and mmWave on top of existing 4G spectrum band layers, the telco explained. Using this particular configuration of spectrum could result in commercial single user peak speeds reaching the 4Gbps mark. Currently, Optus’ 5G customers are seeing single user peak speeds of around 1-2Gbps, Optus Networks managing director Lambo Kanagaratnam said. Adding the mmWave spectrum layer and increasing site capacity to 10Gbps could also mean Optus is able to support around 250 4K video streams per 5G site, he said, which would be an uplift of more than 230% compared to what is currently available. “This is a fantastic demonstration of how mmWave spectrum, integrated into existing 5G and 4G sites, has the capability to significantly boost overall site capacity — which will be a gamechanger for our customers.”   Elsewhere in the telco sector, Reliance Jio announced it will make a payment of ₹1,497 crore to Bharti Airtel to use some of the latter’s spectrum in the 800MHz band in the Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Mumbai circles.

By gaining this right, Reliance Jio now has access to 30MHz of spectrum in the 800MHz band in Mumbai circle and 20MHz of spectrum in the 800MHz band in the Andhra Pradesh and Delhi circles. At last month’s spectrum auction, Reliance Jio splashed the cash by picking up almost 490MHz worth of spectrum for ₹57,100 crore. By comparison, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea each spent ₹18,700 crore and ₹1,990 crore, respectively. With those amounts, Bharti Airtel acquired 355.45MHz of spectrum across sub-GHz, 1,800MHz, and 2,300MHz bands while Vodafone added 11.8MHz across five different bands. Related CoverageOptus mobile outage hits Australian east coastTowers in New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria impacted.Optus repaying underpaid super for thousands of present and past workersTelco has expanded the review of underpayments to all payments.MacTel ends Telstra contract with AU$34m Optus 5G mobile dealMacquarie Telecom says Optus is ‘enabling partnership in Australia’s 5G development while others are actively inhibiting it’.Optus puts McAfee monitoring on its home router for WiFi SecureBlocking software to sit on home routers as Optus looks to prevent malware and other threats. More

Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto
TPG Telecom and Nokia have been appointed to trial a proof-of-concept network for the long mooted Public Safety Mobile Broadband to be used by the nation’s emergency services. Traditionally, emergency services have used dedicated radio networks, while the trial will see the introduction of LTE technology and data to allow for the use of messaging services, data analytics, location services, and real-time reporting. TPG said on Tuesday it had been working with federal and state governments, and emergency services to create a “superior multi-operator solution”. “The trial will allow for the exhaustive testing of the multi-operator service delivery model to ensure it can provide the critical communications support needed for frontline staff during emergencies and natural disasters,” TPG Telecom CEO Iñaki Berroeta said. “Last year’s bushfires and the recent floods in New South Wales and south east Queensland demonstrate the importance of emergency services personnel having access to real-time information to enable them to make critical decisions in dangerous, fast-moving situations.” In December, New South Wales updated its 10-year plan to improve communications for NSW emergency services, with the LTE network making up part of the state’s AU$600 million spend on emergency communications. “Previously critical Gov agencies such as @NSWAmbulance, @NSWSES and @nswpolice had separate radio networks. We are investing $600m to create a single network for these frontline services,” then Minister for Finance, Services and Property Victor Dominello tweeted at the time.

Last year, it was highlighted that spectrum in the 850Mhz band could be used for public safety mobile broadband. Related Coverage More

Japanese technology firm NEC has announced a new leader for its Brazil operations as part of the company’s strategy to reposition itself in the mobile networking segment. Angelo Guerra, previously Vice President for the Mexico, Central America and Caribbean operations at the company, has taken over as chief executive for NEC’s Brazilian subsidiary. According to the company, Guerra – who prior to joining NEC worked for nearly two decades at Nokia – will be leading the company through a “key moment”. This relates to NEC’s comeback to the mobile networking segment under the Open RAN strategy, which focuses on lowering costs and boosting efficiency for mobile operators through interoperability between different hardware vendors.

In addition to Guerra’s ongoing focus on planning new businesses and partnerships, as well as the development of new services to its customer base, the executive will handle the challenge of strengthening certain areas of the company, such as the integration of technologies and suppliers. The new strategy means the Brazilian operation will have “an intense journey ahead” as it moves to resume NEC’s business with operators in the mobile aspect of networks, according to Guerra. “We have all the support of our headquarters to translate this plan into practice”, the executive said.Guerra also has plans to strengthen the security offerings of NEC networks, especially through its identification and digital government portfolios. NEC’s security offerings were bolstered in 2016, when it acquired Arcon Hardware, a Brazilian cybersecurity firm. “Our advantage is that we have advanced technologies of our own in addition to those supplied by partners, as well as expertise in the end-to-end implementation of complex projects”, the executive added.

Yasushi Tanabe, who had been acting as NEC Brazil president since the second half of 2018, took over as chairman of the Japanese firm’s operations in Latin America in October. Tanabe stepped in following the departure of the previous incumbent Daniel Mirabile, who left NEC in early 2018 after leading a restructuring process with spending and staff cuts as well as a boost in the local offerings. More