Telstra has once again been knocked out of action with widespread network outages affecting broadband customers across the country. NBN and ADSL voice and data services in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and a number of regional centres haven't been working properly since midnight.

If you use prepaid for your phone or mobile broadband, it's handy to be able to grab vouchers without having to head to a retail store or use your credit card. After successfully trialling selling Telstra recharge vouchers via NetBank, the Commonwealth Bank is planning to expand that offering to include recharge vouchers for Optus and BigPond media services such as music and games.

From now until July 12, all BP service stations have 25 per cent off BigPond gift cards in $10, $20, $50 and $100 denominations. You can use the cards for music, movie or games downloads.

It's not quite a terabyte plan, but a revamp of Telstra's BigPond broadband and mobile broadband plans has seen it introduce a new 500GB per month plan, simplify the criteria for its bundling deals and add some extra data to contract mobile broadband. All the details (and the catch) after the jump.

When Foxtel launched its Xbox 360 service last October, we couldn't help but point out that it would be an expensive undertaking given that all the data you used to watch would come out of your monthly cap. That has now changed for Telstra BigPond customers, who will get unmetered access to Foxtel on Xbox 360 TV services as of today.

We first heard about them a year ago, but Telstra's ultra-fast cable plans are finally on sale to selected Melbourne consumers. On offer from the BigPond Ultimate plan is a theoretical maximum speed of 100Mbps, but you'll pay for the privilege.

Telstra has backtracked on its plans to charge a fee to customers who choose to bundle phones and Internet service together, on the very same day the fee was set to be introduced.

Bundling deals are one of the most common tactics used by telcos to attract your business, the theory being that you get cheaper prices in return for spending more money overall. But as Dan over on our sibling site Gizmodo reveals, Telstra is now going to charge a setup fee for customers who add phone or broadband services.

If you don't fancy excess usage charges, shaping remains the most palatable alternative. BigPond customers on Telstra's more expensive plans will now find the experience a little less painful, with shaping speeds increasing fourfold from 64Kbps to 256Kbps.

Back in June, Telstra increased broadband data allowances for customers who bundled a bunch of other products with their home internet connection. Now it has increased the data allowances and dropped prices on its BigPond ADSL range more generally, but the prices are still only available to customers who sign long-term contracts and take on other services.

As promised, Telstra has made major changes to the prices of its BigPond ADSL broadband services. One welcome change is the elimination of 200MB monthly download limits on its cheapest plans and a shift to shaping on some services, but not all the news is so good.

Telstra has upgraded its wireless broadband gateway offering, but its increased Wi-Fi speed is only available if you sign up for a contract on the service.