The weekday briefing on Australian telecommunications, data centres and AI infrastructure.
Today's briefing
Monday 9 November 2026
Data-centre politics and finance lead the edition.
NEXTDC has paused projects without customer contracts and is weighing sales of surplus sites after a 40 per cent share price fall, leaving its 170ha Lovely Banks purchase near Geelong in doubt.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on 6 November 2026 that suburbs are the wrong place for data centres.
Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom each want 200MHz for 6G, against up to 515MHz on offer from the ACMA.
NEXTDC has paused projects without customer contracts and is weighing sales of surplus development sites after a 40 per cent share price fall, leaving its 170ha Lovely Banks purchase near Geelong in doubt.
The Internet Association of Australia and nine small and medium carriers have written to Communications Minister Anika Wells, warning that regulation aimed at large telcos is loading compliance costs onto hundreds of smaller operators and threatening competition.
Goodman Group wants to build five towers of up to 60 storeys at 3-5 Talavera Road, across from its approved 135MW Project Apollo data centre. A state panel has backed fast-tracking, and the planning minister has yet to decide.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on 6 November 2026 that suburbs are not the right place for data centres, as the Nationals attack the government's draft standards and US midterm results sharpen the debate.
Stockland and John Boyd Properties have removed a proposed data centre from the amended plan for the former Kogarah Golf Club site on the Cooks River, while keeping a logistics precinct valued at about $3.5 billion.
Under the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Act 2026, the ACMA can step in directly against rule-breaking providers, and maximum fines rise above $10 million. A new registration scheme will also cover carriage service providers.
Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom say they each need 200MHz to start 6G in 2029, while the ACMA has put up to 515MHz on the table. Regional coverage, satellite reliance and vendor security are also in dispute.
A communique from the Secretaries Digital and Data Committee says open-weight models can be a secure, cost-effective choice for routine workloads if government hosts them. Home Affairs and the AI Safety Institute told a parliamentary committee the security picture is still unsettled.
The ACMA wants to charge for every sender ID on its SMS register from 1 July 2027 to recover about A$1.6 million in yearly running costs. Existing registrants would have to re-apply and pay, and comments close on 4 December 2026.
Spark New Zealand hit all its FY26 guidance, with mobile service revenue growing again and free cash flow up 18.5 per cent to $308 million, Chair Vince Hawksworth told shareholders on Friday.
The East Micronesia Cable System, operational in 2026, gives Nauru, Tarawa in Kiribati and Kosrae in Micronesia their first direct submarine cable access, Innovando News reported. Every Pacific Islands Forum member is now connected to the global submarine cable network.
Marvell Technology has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Lumentum for an enterprise value of $115 billion, joining two large data-centre optics suppliers. The deal follows a run of photonics investments driven by AI interconnect demand.
New Zealand police say attempts to steal disused copper cable are damaging live fibre lines in Auckland. One recent outage in Swanson and Massey affected an estimated 10,000 people.