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Connecting Today's Consumer session transcripts and presentations are now available.

Every consumer wants to be connected and enjoy the benefits of competitive products and prices, but what’s the reality in Australia today and what can be done to improve the consumer experience?

Connecting Today’s Consumer explored the big issues facing Australian telco consumers – When and how can every Australian connect to our broadband and mobile networks? Are we being offered truly competitive content and products? How do we ensure consumers know their rights and can act on them?

This Roundtable will hear about current cyber security issues from leading advocates in the disability sector, as well as discussing industry and government initiatives designed to create a safer online experience. The Roundtable will identify what people with disabilities need to protect themselves online.

ACCAN National Conference 2015 - save the date

The ACCAN National Conference, Dollars and Bytes - Communications affordability now and tomorrow, was held from 1-2 September, 2015, at the Aerial UTS Function Centre in Sydney.

Affordability is one of our core objectives and was the focus of the Conference. Affordability of communications products is an issue that affects all consumers, from young people, to families and seniors.

Presentations and transcripts are now available and are linked below.

ACCAN's engagement with rural, regional and remote consumers has continually highlighted the importance of improving mobile communications outside of urban centres. Better mobile coverage will yield a range of benefits to regional and remote Australia including improved business opportunities, better access to essential services and enhanced safety and well-being.

Image of Johanna Plant, Paul Fletcher and Teresa Corbin

The Universal Service Obligation (USO) is a vital consumer protection in Australia. The USO ensures a standard telephone service (generally fixed line voice services) and pay phones are accessible to all people in Australia. It was formally introduced in 1991, but it has seen a number of changes over the years.

Consumers, government, regulators and industry are all stakeholders in a radically shifting communications environment. Together we are responsible for shaping a competitive, efficient and fair communications market that deliver all the potential benefits of affordable, available and accessible communications services to end users.

The 2010 ACCAN National Conference and Consumer Summit asks participants to think about the opportunities and challenges that we face in the provision of essential communications services in a digital age. We’ll explore opportunities to make the market work better for consumers, with a strong emphasis on actively ensuring no-one is left behind.

Brain Injury is common. Over 500,000 Australians have an acquired brain injury. Three out every four of them are aged under 65. Nick Rushworth, Executive of Brain Injury Australia, explains Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) below as part of Brain Injury Awareness week:

The presentations and transcripts of all M-Enabling Australasia 2013 sessions are now available. M-Enabling Australasia 2013, held on 14-15 August 2013, brought together the who's who of disability advocacy, policy makers, manufacturers, developers, service providers and consumers to discuss how to make technology more accessible for people with disability and older consumers.

People of all ages use phones, mobile phones, the internet and TV. But how much access is there really for the 1 in 6 Australians who are deaf or hearing-impaired? This group includes older people with an acquired hearing impairment, as well as younger people.

The ACMA’s major inquiry into Customer Service is now underway, with submissions due 10 September. To ensure you voice your experiences with the industry effectively, ACCAN will be hosting an information session about how to write a submission.

Join us for ACCAN's first Research Linkage Forum where we will showcase the diverse projects we are engaging in to drive our work and to build a consumer-centric base of evidence.

This summit is co-hosted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN). The summit will be an opportunity for consumer advocates to outline how the telecommunications industry’s poor customer service and complaints-handling practices affects their clients and constituents, and comments on the recommendations being proposed by the ACMA.