Networking

As working from home is now quickly becoming entrenched in the workforce, a reliable internet connection is a must. 

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Bandwidth is now demanded by not only our PCs, but also our mobile devices, Internet of Things (IoT) products, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming services. With so many of us now spending a substantial amount of time at home, especially when there are multiple people in the same property, the fight for capacity can lead to a host of connectivity issues. 
Also: How to optimize your network for remote work and learning
However, it’s not just a fight for access to social media or Netflix. Working remotely and homeschooling have now been added to the mix, and we are more dependent than ever on having a stable internet connection in our daily lives.
Connectivity drops, bottlenecks, slow content streaming and downloads, or simply slow speeds are all common issues with home internet. 
Below, we explore seven major reasons why your internet might be slow — and how to fix them. 
Bandwidth caps
A low-cost subscription from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may have once served you well for occasionally checking your email or watching a YouTube video at home. Now, when you need a connection that can manage IoT, you need to maintain a remote Microsoft Teams work meeting, your child is using Zoom while attending a virtual lesson, and another person is gaming at the same time, if you have constant speed problems, this is the first thing you should consider. 

Before examining your hardware, you should make sure you are on a package that is likely to be able to cope with today’s array of devices and demand. As noted by ZDNet’s Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, a minimum speed of 30Mbps is recommended. 
See also: Slow Wi-Fi? 8 ways to speed up your home office network
What’s my speed?
If you are already on a package such as fiber and there’s no reason why you are suffering slow internet speeds because of what you are paying for, head over to Speedtest.net to check your connection speed in real-time. 
This free service will ping and check your download and upload speeds, as shown in progress below:

If you are paying for a package of up to 30Mbps and are only receiving speeds of 2 or 3Mbps, for example, it may be an issue with your ISP and physical cables. At this point, it is worth checking in with your provider to see if there is an outage in the area. Flickering lights on your router may also indicate a problem outside of your home. 
However, if it is only a specific service online that you’re having trouble with, go to Down for everyone or just me, type in the address, and check to see if your slow speed or failed connection to a domain is a third-party problem or outage. 
Location, location, location 
There are two general categories of hardware used to connect your home: a traditional router or a mesh network. 
Traditional routers take on the role of a center point to link you to your ISP service. These routers are centralized hubs that manage traffic through one access point. 
Also: Mesh networking vs. traditional Wi-Fi routers: What is best for your home office?
In comparison, mesh networks are a relatively new entrant on the market that create a web of nodes for internet access. Instead of every home device connecting to one router, these products include a hub and nodes that can be dotted around different areas of your home — and devices will connect to the closest node to access the internet.
If you are using traditional hardware, such as a default router provided by your ISP, you need to keep in mind that the further away you are, the higher the risk of connection problems, slow speeds, and dropouts. A simple solution is to move your router — perhaps, closer to your home office — or invest in a Wi-Fi extender to boost signal strength. 
Objects, too, can impede connections between your devices and a router. If possible, try to keep clutter around your router to a minimum. 
Larger properties or home offices located in a garden or yard, however, may simply not be serviceable by one centralized internet hub. If this is the case, moving your router won’t be enough, and it may be time to consider a mesh network instead. 
On this note, both categories can provide reasonable speeds — but mesh networks do tend to sacrifice some speed for improved connectivity. If you require direct, high-speed connections for streaming, gaming, and power-hungry work applications, an upgrade to your standard router is a worthwhile investment and will likely perform better than a mesh setup. 
There is also no point in signing up a high-speed internet plan if your old hardware cannot support it, and so you need to consider the age of your router if you are having trouble with slow speeds. 
See also:  
Check your wiring
Something that may be overlooked but could cause connectivity or speed issues is the wiring linking your router to a phone jack or PC. If they are old, you may want to consider refreshing them and replacing older ADSL/Ethernet wires and see if this solves the issue. 
Piggyback?
If you are suffering slow speeds, this may be because someone else is hijacking your internet subscription. Routers usually come with a randomized password set as default and printed on a sticker on your router, but if you have changed your password to something weak or have a Wi-Fi hotspot open, this could indicate that others are using your network without consent. 
To lock your connection or change your password, head over to your router’s configuration page in a browser. You will need to check your vendor’s specific router address use — which is usually something comparable to 192.168.0.1  — or perform a Google search with your router type and this should provide the address you need to access router settings. 
Crowded channels
Wi-Fi channels facilitate the sending and receipt of data. When you have too many connections, this may cause a bottleneck that slows down your broadband. Depending on which channels your router uses, you may be able to switch to less congested traffic paths. 
There are different Android and iOS apps to analyze your Wi-Fi channels easily and reveal what devices are connected to your network. In order to change channels, you can sign in to your router’s configuration page and select from available options. 
A slow VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) is software that adds a layer of encryption to connections made between your device and servers, as well as masks your IP address. Now many of us are working from home, offices may require you to use a VPN to access corporate resources. 
You can either subscribe to a VPN as a paying customer or opt for a free service. Paid options are usually faster but can still slow down your internet as you are using a relay for traffic — and if the VPN service is being used at peak times, there may also be congestion. 
Also: Best VPN services for 2021: Safe and fast don’t come for free 
A quick fix is often to try a different location option offered by your VPN; for example, London users set to a New York server could try using a different server located in the UK. Not all VPNs, either, are created equal, and there can be substantial differences between the speeds on offer. 
Free VPNs are generally not recommended because in return for free access, there is always a trade-off — whether this is in security, your personal data, or speed. If you are using a free VPN option and the low speed is intolerable, you may want to consider signing up for a paid service instead. 
Read on: 
Further tips:
Reset: Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the right one. If your speed is suffering, try unplugging your router, leaving it for 10 seconds or so, and restarting. In the same way that a PC sometimes needs a refresh, routers sometimes do, too. 
Check your background usage: Some mobile apps and PC programs with heavy resource demands or streaming requirements may take up bandwidth that you otherwise need without you realizing it. 
Keep your security up-to-date: Another factor not to be missed is the possibility of malware infections. If your internet has slowed down without reason, it may be that malware is hijacking your browser and exploiting your Wi-Fi connection. You should frequently scan your system to keep it clean.
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Telstra has finalised testing for its low band 5G spectrum and will now begin rolling it out as part of its commercial 5G network.
The low band spectrum, in the 850MHz range, is currently used for the telco’s 3G network. With 3G traffic progressively declining as consumers move to newer technologies, Telstra has been working towards repurposing part of that spectrum for its 5G network.
“The tests and rollout, which started last November, have added another dimension to our 5G offering with parts of the network now able to do a 5G data session over distances exceeding 80km,” Telstra said.
According to Channa Seneviratne, a Telstra technology development and solutions executive, the addition of low band spectrum to the telco’s 5G network will allow it to offer broader 5G coverage to “hard to reach places”.
“We are continuing to test and optimise 5G, work that will unlock further advanced 5G capabilities such as the aggregation of more carrier frequencies, lower latency like the ~ 5mSec we demonstrated previously and the progression of the 5G StandAlone Network which we first enabled in May 2020,” Seneviratne said.
He added that Telstra is currently testing the use of 700MHz spectrum for low band 5G purposes.
The Australia government’s 5G policy outline, released last year, stated that lower band spectrum, such as those in the 850MHZ and 900MHz bands, are important for broader 4G and 5G coverage in areas such as regional Australia.

“A reconfiguration will support the deployment of 4G and 5G networks and support more efficient use of the spectrum,” the policy said  
As of March, Telstra has 3,000 5G sites on-air across Australia and remains on track to roll out its 5G network to more than 75% of the population by the end of June, it said.
Telstra hit the 50% mark in January and had set up 2,650 5G sites around the country at that point.
Last week, Macquarie Telecom announced it would be moving on from using Telstra’s network for its telecommunications business, opting to use Optus’ 5G mobile network instead. The multi-year deal, valued at AU$34 million, will see Macquarie Telecom offer 5G plans, Wi-Fi calling, and VoLTE plans using Optus’ network to its customers.
According to Macquarie Telecom group executive Luke Clifton, the telecommunications provider opted for Optus’ network as it has been “enabling partnership in Australia’s 5G development while others are ‘actively inhibiting’ it”.
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Samsung, through its partnership with Spark, has launched its first commercial 5G network in New Zealand.
Spark’s new 5G network, rolled out in Christchurch, is the first deployment of Samsung’s latest 5G RAN solutions in New Zealand.
According to Spark, the rollout of its Christchurch 5G network marks the first time a new radio network vendor has deployed a commercial network in New Zealand in over a decade.
“We are thrilled to work with Spark in building its 5G network. This project in Christchurch marks another milestone in Samsung’s 5G journey,” Samsung Electronics New Zealand managing director MinSu Chu said.
Samsung signed on to be Spark’s 5G vendor at the start of last year, after the New Zealand telco was banned from using Huawei’s equipment for its 5G radio access network.
The Government Communications Security Bureau banned Spark from using Huawei’s networking equipment as it believed using such technology raised “significant security risks”.
With the latest rollout, Spark now has six locations across New Zealand that have access to its 5G network. In addition to Christchurch, Spark’s 5G wireless broadband services are currently available in Auckland, Dunedin, Palmerston North, New Plymouth and Te Awamutu, and six South Island towns. 

In announcing the latest 5G launch, Spark technology lead Renee Mateparae also said the telco was on track to deploy the new network nationwide by 2023.
Earlier this week, Spark, 2degrees, and Vodafone committed to providing more information to support consumer choice and developing a prospective consumer data right before the end of the year.
This will entail New Zealand’s major telcos providing at least 12 months’ usage and spend information to customers; providing customers with an annual summary of their usage and spend along with a prompt to consider alternative options; and promoting the development of tools to enable more effective comparison and choice for telco consumers through the nation’s Telecommunications Forum.
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SpaceX, which is delivering satellite broadband to select homes in the US, wants to conquer the next frontier of satellite broadband by connecting aircraft, trains and other moving vehicles. 
The company outlined its ambitions in a new filing with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Networking

Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has not been shy about sharing the company’s ambitions to connect transport systems with his constellation of Starlink satellites. He’s already outlined its plans to put Starlink satellites on trains in Europe and North America via tweets. 
SEE: Hiring Kit: 5G Wireless System Engineer (TechRepublic Premium)
But the company made those plans more official last week with an application to the FCC regarding the 4,400 satellites the FCC has approved it to operate at about 550km (340 miles) above Earth. 
“To date, SpaceX has launched over 1,100 satellites and continues to deploy its system,” SpaceX said in its filing with the FCC. 
Last year, Musk told Starlink fans that the company’s dishes could be deployed on high-speed moving objects, like trains, which was possible because “everything is slow to a phased array antenna.”

To date, the FCC has authorized SpaceX to roll out a million end-user terminals to transmit data from SpaceX’s constellation. 
“These user terminals employ advanced phased-array beam-forming and digital processing technologies to make highly efficient  use of Ku-band spectrum resources by supporting highly directive, antenna beams that point and track the system’s low-Earth orbit satellites,” writes SpaceX’s director of satellite policy, David Goldman. 
The new applications seeks authorization to operate Earth-deployed stations as “Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations (“VMESs”), Earth Stations on Vessels (“ESVs”), and Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft (“ESAAs”) (collectively, Earth Stations in Motion (“ESIMs)”. 
In other words, planes, trains and automobiles. However, Musk, CEO of electric car maker Tesla, clarified that the automobiles part does not include Tesla vehicles because the terminal – which Musk has described as a like a “little UFO on a stick” measuring 50cm in diameter – are too big for passenger vehicles.
“Not connecting Tesla cars to Starlink, as our terminal is much too big. This is for aircraft, ships, large trucks & RVs,” Musk told CNBC’s Michael Sheetz. 
SEE: Digital transformation: The new rules for getting projects done
SpaceX’s Goldman argued in a document that it was in the public’s interest to create a new category of ESIMs.
“To support its ambitious timetable for launching and expanding innovative satellite broadband services, SpaceX Services  requests that the Commission grant the requested blanket license as expeditiously as possible,” writes Goldman. 
He says the service will expand broadband satellite to “moving vehicles, vessels, and aircraft”, which would have terminals that track SpaceX’s satellites. 
The public beta has targeted areas in the US with poor or no connectivity. Musk has said SpaceX only intends to serve about 3% of American households. That wouldn’t make it a threat to the likes of Verizon or AT&T, but it could give SpaceX an upper hand against traditional satellite providers that serve cruises, the trucking industry and public transport systems. 

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Fujitsu has signed a three-year contract with the Australian Department of Defence to modernise the department’s network infrastructure and end-user computing that is used to support field operations and exercises for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Under the AU$175 million program, Fujitsu will work in partnership with Defence’s partners KBR and Leidos to provide services including service desk functions, end-user and workstation support, VoIP and email communications, collaboration tools, network infrastructure, and network services management across all Defence operations.
Other deliverables under the contract, according to Fujitsu, include continuous in-service deployed IT environments that “are an essential part of Defence’s operational capability” and developing “centrally-governed security and accreditation and enterprise governance”.
Must read: There are 84 high-cost IT projects underway by the Australian government
Helping Defence’s IT workforce build their skillset is also on the to-do list for Fujitsu.
“Fujitsu is pleased to continue its longstanding relationship with the Department of Defence and to be working collaboratively with Defence’s industry partners KBR and Leidos,” Fujitsu ANZ CEO Graeme Beardsell said.
“Where together we will deliver a comprehensive solution that will provide exceptional support to critical Defence operations. Through our strategic partnership with Defence, we look forward to provisioning surge capacity and enhancing skills with our ADF colleagues.

This latest contract builds on Fujitsu’s existing relationship with Defence. In the past, the tech conglomerate has been charged with delivering national deskside support services, including warehousing and asset management, project services, and audiovisual services; and the department’s distributed computing centralised services. 
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Vocus is a step closer to finalising an acquisition offer from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and Aware Super, valued at AU$3.5 billion, after announcing it entered into a scheme implementation deed (SID) with the consortium on Tuesday.
The consortium is proposing to acquire 100% of Vocus for AU$5.50 a share, putting the total value of the acquisition at AU$3.5 billion. MIRA made the indicative offer in early February, before Vocus announced later that month Aware Super had joined the consortium.
In entering the SID, Vocus has unanimously recommended for its shareholders to vote in favour of the scheme, in the absence of a superior offer and subject to an independent expert that will determine whether the scheme is in the best interests of shareholders.  
“The Vocus Board is unanimous in our view that this offer is in the best interests of Vocus shareholders,” Vocus chairman Bob Mansfield said.
“In making this assessment, the Board considered a range of alternatives, including the execution of our existing strategy under which the proceeds of an IPO of Vocus New Zealand would reduce debt and be invested in our core business.
“Feedback from shareholders in recent weeks on the indicative offer of $5.50 originally received from MIRA has been overwhelmingly positive and there is a broad recognition that this is a very fair value for Vocus shareholders.”
The company added as part of entering the SID, it will not be pursuing IPO plans of Vocus New Zealand, which it had announced in November.

Vocus managing director and CEO Kevin Russell touted the acquisition would support the company in future growth plans.
“As we enter this new stage of investment and growth, support from MIRA and Aware Super will provide the strongest possible foundation for the business and the capacity to invest in our key assets and provide exceptional service to our customers,” he said.
Shareholders will vote on the scheme at a meeting, currently expected to be held in June. If shareholders give the green light, the takeover would come into effect in July.
Vocus has appointed Credit Suisse as financial advisor and Allens as legal advisor for the process. 
For its half-year results, Vocus recurring revenue increased by 2% to AU$896 million while underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) remained steady, hovering around AU$192 million. Underlying net profit after tax was AU$45.4 million, which was an 11% year-on-year dip.
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If you work in a home office or have a small business with multiple remote locations, you’ve probably encountered scenarios when a power disruption or a system fault at the provider occurs, and then internet connectivity at that location is temporarily severed. It might require rebooting multiple network devices to restore connectivity even if power has been supplied continuously with a UPS.

A typical Switch Always On deployment scenario with a broadband gateway, cellular modem, and wireless access points.
Jason Perlow/ZDNet
In cases like this, human intervention is needed. Someone has to unplug a gateway device, such as a broadband/Wi-Fi router, a cable modem, or other broadband access devices like optical network terminal (ONT), and potentially access points and switches. In many cases, it may even be a sequence in which this has to be done — such as the cable modem or ONT booting up first before the gateway device.
In a home-based or small office environment, where there is someone available to perform the restart, this is an annoying and inconvenient task to accomplish. In other cases, where nobody is onsite to access the equipment, such as in a multi-dwelling unit, it could result in a significant delay before someone can perform the needed task of unplugging and re-plugging the equipment in the desired sequence.
Enter Switch Always On

Switch Always On device view displaying network and power connectivity
Jason Perlow/ZDNet
Switch Always On, made by Orlando-based Smart Charging Technologies, has designed a device ($197) to alleviate this human intervention issue with broadband device reboots once and for all: A smart UPS with integrated Wi-Fi and Ethernet device-monitoring designed specifically for 12V and 5V network devices.
Setup is simple. The Switch Always On is plugged into AC power, and the Ethernet port on the device is then connected to a spare port on your Ethernet switch or broadband gateway. Your broadband gateway and broadband access devices are plugged directly into the Switch Always On 12V ports using supplied 12V cables and adapter connectors — the original power supply bricks are no longer used. Two Additional USB-A ports with 5V power supplies are included, and USB-A to 5V cables are also available for lower-power devices, should you need to attach and monitor them as well.
Once all of the equipment is powered, the device is configured using a smartphone app that runs on iOS and Android. This entails configuring its Wi-Fi network to monitor the local access points and their internet connectivity and its direct Ethernet connection to the broadband gateway.
We felt the setup and registration of the Switch Always On using its free cloud monitoring service was fairly easy. It only took about 10 minutes of using the app to program the device to connect to my networks and set the restart profiles for device reboots.

The app shows the current connectivity status of all your Switch Always On devices and the power supplied to all connected 12V and 5V network equipment. Still, the user interface could probably use some additional work, as it requires multiple layers of clicks to get to some frequently accessed areas — the network log for each device is buried several levels deep and it would be good if they moved that to a higher-level menu, for example. 
The Switch Always On has a built-in battery that will continuously power connected equipment for up to 90 minutes. However, if the device detects any internet connectivity loss from either the Wi-Fi or Ethernet networks, it can be programmed (based on an Ethernet or Wi-Fi restart profile) to automatically reboot them in intervals of your choosing (I set mine for 10 minutes) until connectivity is restored. 

Ethernet restart profiles set within my Switch Always On. The Optical Network Terminal (ONT) reboots before the Residential Gateway (RG).
Jason Perlow/ZDNet
Obviously, this will not work in the event of a total local infrastructure failure or complete loss of service at the telecom provider, in which case, having the power supplied to the broadband devices won’t actually restore connectivity. However, in areas where frequent brownouts do occur, such as in the part of South Florida that I currently live in, this is a good way of maintaining critical business connectivity.
Currently, this product is only designed to power and restart 12V and 5V connected devices, not larger 120V network devices such as smart switches (which may, in turn, be connected via PoE to Wi-Fi access points) or a bank of IoT equipment connected to a power strip. The company is currently investigating the possibility of designing a 5V-connected smart plug that could then be used to recycle power on an entire surge suppressor strip. To continually power several 120V devices, I would recommend a 750W or 1500W UPS.

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A 90-year old Melbournian woman — living alone and reliant on an emergency alert bracelet — was left without a home phone last month. Where responsibility lies regarding the lack of phone services is unclear.
Brighton’s Margaret Burchill had her home phone service cut on February 18 as Telstra Wholesale switched off the copper to her building, despite the fact that new connections in her area were put on hold as part of NBN’s HFC pause. 
The company responsible for rolling out the NBN postponed new HFC connections at the start of February, due to a shortage of HFC Network Termination Devices (NTDs) caused by COVID-19-related chipset shortages. The HFC connection schedule is expected to resume in May or June.
“Disconnections have only been revised for HFC customers who were scheduled to be disconnected from February to April 2021,” according to an NBN spokesperson.
“This premise was scheduled for disconnection in March 2020, which was extended by Telstra until February 2021 due to COVID-19, and Telstra did not seek any further extension of time for the customer to migrate their legacy services to the NBN.”
Burchill did not receive postal notifications of the impending cut-off, apparently due to an address mismatch in the NBN rollout map.
Her service was then cut despite NBN’s decree that HFC connections would continue during the HFC pause for “medically vulnerable people” and “premises that have had their copper-based legacy services disconnected”.

According to a Telstra Wholesale spokesperson, Burchill’s disconnection date wasn’t further extended as the responsibility fell on iiNet as her retail service provider (RSP) to raise the issue with Telstra Wholesale before her disconnection date.
In response, an iiNet spokesperson said Telstra Wholesale did not inform iiNet of Burchill’s disconnection date. 
“Telstra is required to give one months’ notice to the service provider, so the service provider can issue a final notice to the customer,” according to iiNet.
“As a result, we were unable to send the customer a final notice and the customer did not have an opportunity to contact us to request a further extension.”
When Burchill’s phone line went dead on February 18, her son Scott Burchill emailed iiNet. He was told his mother’s home could not be reconnected via copper due to the switch-off, nor could it be connected to the NBN due to the HFC pause.
While his mother could “lodge an NBN pre-order”, iiNet’s customer support told him that she would be without a home phone — clashing with NBN’s instructions to RSPs.
Burchill was left in broadband limbo until ZDNet raised the matter with NBN on February 23. An installer connected her home to the HFC network the following day, but it still took two weeks for her iiNet NBN service to be activated so her home phone service could be restored.
Initially, an iiNet spokesperson claimed it had resolved the issue when Burchill’s son first notified iiNet that his mother’s line had been disconnected. This contradicts his email exchanges with two iiNet customer support agents, who both said he could only “lodge an NBN pre-order” and wait.
After further investigation, a different iiNet spokesperson confirmed that iiNet did not resolve the issue, insisting it could not lodge the work order with NBN because it did not have the customer’s consent.
“When the customer’s family member contacted us on February 18 to advise their phone service wasn’t working, it was escalated internally,” according to iiNet.
“Between February 19-22, we made a number of unsuccessful efforts to encourage the customer to move to the NBN. A customer must request an NBN service via an RSP, and an RSP cannot lodge a work order with the NBN without a customer’s consent.”
Burchill’s son disputes iiNet’s account of events, saying “that simply doesn’t add up”.
“As soon as I contacted iiNet, I naturally asked them to connect her to the NBN as soon as possible,” he said.
NBN and RSPs are required to manage the migration of a consumer’s legacy service to an NBN service in a way that minimises disruption to the continuity of their service, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) NBN Service Continuity Standard.
“That means both NBN Co and a consumer’s RSP have responsibilities for ensuring that consumers are not left without a service during the migration to the NBN,” an ACMA spokesperson said.
While the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is unable to comment on individual cases, a spokesperson for the consumer watchdog said it would be concerned if a consumer’s service was shut down without a replacement being made available. 
“We would be particularly concerned if this was a priority assistance customer, as special arrangements exist to prevent this situation,” the ACCC spokesperson said.
“The ACCC expects NBN Co and retail service providers to work together to prevent any consumer from being left without an active service, particularly while there are problems with access to NTDs.”
Updated at 5:45pm AEST, 5 March 2021: updated headline to reflect current NBN HFC pause situation.
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