Cloud computing has the potential to transform the way individual consumers and small businesses store and use data, potentially saving time, money and effort. You may already be using a cloud computing service like Hotmail or other web-based email services. However, cloud computing involves risks for consumers that must be carefully managed.
This position statement has been issued by peak disability and consumer groups regarding the two proposed mobile emergency services for people who are Deaf, hearing-impaired or with speech impairment or complex communication needs (CCN). We stand together in calling for a simultaneous implementation of bothan SMS emergency service and an emergency service provided via a smartphone application.
Read more: Access for people with disability to emergency calls
An ACCAN Position Statement on the National Broadband Network's installation process.
ACCAN is calling on the government to make National Broadband Network (NBN) fibre-optic cable installations automatic unless individual property owners choose to opt out.
ACCAN's broadband position statement, entitled Our Broadband Future, was launched at the ACCAN National Conference 2010 in Melbourne. ACCAN defines four principles that should guide broadband policy.
Broadband plans are commonly advertised on headline speed claims which may only be achievable in ideal test conditions and are not what consumers should expect in real world everyday use. Claims are qualified with an elusive list of factors that can affect performance, but this is difficult for consumers to engage with or apply to their service. This issue is heightened with nbn and the promise of faster and better technologies and services.
Read more: Summary: Independent Broadband Performance Information
We the undersigned join together as a Coalition to highlight our collective concern about the lack of equitable access to reliable and quality telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote Australia. We represent the businesses, communities and families of rural and regional Australia.
Our members include some of the most innovative businesses and individuals in Australia. Yet we remain locked out of future economic growth and prosperity through the digital divide – undermining Australia’s productivity.
We firmly believe that access to better communications services across regional Australia will lead to better outcomes for the entire nation.
Read more: Regional, Rural and Remote Communications Coalition
Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) commissioned research on how consumers experience their billing arrangements.
This research has found that some of the payment options that are offered by telecommunications providers to their customers are not suitable for people in vulnerable circumstances.
Some of the key findings of the research include:
Communications affordability is an important issue, especially with many consumers facing cost of living pressures and rising costs of telecommunications services.
ACCAN conducted a survey through Ipsos’ Digital Omnibus survey in March 2023 to better understand consumers’ experiences with communications affordability. This survey sought the views of 1,000 respondents from a variety of age groups, locations, and incomes.
It found:
ACCAN recently commissioned research asking the Australian public about their top concerns when it comes to their communications services.
We surveyed nearly 1000 (n=998) Australians on a range of topics. We asked people about the affordability and reliability of their communications services, their use and trust of public wi-fi, their TV viewing habits and what they do to keep themselves safe on social media, messaging apps and other digital platforms. The results show that in 2022, Australians expect a communications market that is trusted, inclusive, accessible and available for all.
New research from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has revealed that almost three in four Australians agree that it needs to be easier to make a complaint and to get their issues resolved when dealing with digital platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, eBay, and Service NSW.
A nationally representative survey of 1,000 Australians conducted by the peak body for communications consumers using Ipsos’ Digital Omnibus online survey found that 74% of respondents think that it needs to be easier for people to make a complaint, and 78% think that it needs to be easier for people to get their issues resolved on digital platforms. Digital platforms were defined as websites and apps such as social media, Government online services, job search sites, dating apps, messaging apps and online marketplaces. ACCAN’s polling also shows that 60% of Australians feel there’s not much they can do when something goes wrong online.
Read more: Digital Platforms and the Consumer Experience in Australia
ACCAN commissioned research assessing the effectiveness of programs and offers being provided by the telecommunications industry to assist low income households and individuals with the affordability of their telecommunications services.
The research encompassed surveys and interviews with community organisations involved in delivering some of the programs, community organisations who work with low income individuals and households, and low income individuals themselves – both those that have received programs and offers from telcos and those that haven’t.
Read more: Addressing Telecommunications Affordability: Evaluating Support for Low Income Consumers
ACCAN is deeply concerned about the inadequacy of existing government programs supporting improved communications infrastructure in remote Indigenous communities (RICs). These communities are among the most disadvantaged and digitally disengaged in the country.
The pre-existing digital divide has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdown. While there has been an accelerated take up of digital services such as videoconferencing, remote server access, and telehealth for those with access and skills, communities that are disconnected are at a much greater disadvantage at this time. Very few remote Indigenous people have the option of home schooling, working from home, or accessing basic services online. Most RICs have restricted all non-essential movement due to the high risks associated with COVID infection, increasing the need for remote access to services, including health, education, Centrelink, MyGov, justice, banking and so on. However, with an estimated 30% of remote and very remote Indigenous people without household access to telephony or internet, and many Shire/Council offices, schools and other service centres closed, some essential services have not been available to many remote Indigenous people.