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Australia has the potential to be a leader in harnessing the technologies of the National Broadband Network to benefit consumers with disabilities, ACCAN Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation said today.
A new international study commissioned by ACCAN reports on 16 high-speed broadband applications that can provide enormous benefits to people with disabilities.
Read more: Australia can be a leader in the accessible use of broadband
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ACCAN has a new a chair, Sue Salthouse was elected to the position at a recent ACCAN board meeting at which Kate Locke was elected Deputy Chair, Len Bytheway, Treasurer and Nan Bosler, Secretary.
New Chair, Sue Salthouse has been a member of the ACCAN Board since its inception and was also a member of the working group that formed the organisation.
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ACCAN welcomes today’s release of the Australian Government Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy by the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Lindsay Tanner, and Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Bill Shorten.
The Strategy outlines the steps that need to be taken to ensure all government web sites are compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 to its second highest AA level by 2015.
Read more: ACCAN applauds government's commitment to accessible web sites
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ACCAN today welcomed five new members to its Board. Professor Michael Fraser, Dr Ross Kelso, Ms Heron Loban, Ms Kate Locke and Ms Su Robertson were elected at ACCAN’s Annual General Meeting yesterday.
“I am confident the new members of the Board will provide insightful direction and effective strategic guidance and stewardship in steering the organisation in its role of strong advocate for communications consumers,” Allan Asher, CEO of ACCAN said.
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Any agreement between Telstra and the NBN Co must be exposed to public scrutiny and doesn’t remove the need for the structural separation of Telstra, said ACCAN, Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation.
ACCAN CEO Allan Asher said the whole country had a stake in the future of the broadband network.
“The community has lost its confidence in Telstra, so an agreement that isn’t explicit, that doesn’t tie Telstra into definite time frames and that doesn’t have a clear schedule for reducing Telstra market dominance, won’t be accepted by the community.
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The Footscray Legal Community Centre (FCLC) together with ACCAN has today released a damning report that documents the experiences of 16 new Australian migrants and finds that in many cases telcos are taking advantage of this already disadvantaged and highly vulnerable group.
Read more: Phone, internet plans “incomprehensible” for African and Burmese refugees and migrants
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Peak telco consumer group ACCAN says that today's announcement by Telstra that it will slow internet speeds on smartphones rather than charge customers excess data charges is a welcome step in the right direction towards curbing "bill shock".
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ACCAN has called for accessibility measures to be built into the federal government’s online platforms, interactive web sites and its information technology procurement policy.
ACCAN made the call as the federal government released its Access to Electronic Media for the Hearing and Vision Impaired: Approaches for Consideration discussion report which seeks public consultation to improve access to electronic media for people with hearing and vision impairments.
Read more: Accessibility must be built into online government services
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Broadband pricing should be monitored to ensure that consumers do not pay more for services under the transition to the National Broadband Network, according to the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network.
The telecommunications watchdog made the recommendation to the Senate Inquiry into the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Consumer and Competition Safeguards) Bill 2009, in Melbourne today.
Read more: Legislation must protect consumers in the National Broadband Network environment
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Peak communications body ACCAN commends Vodafone CEO Nigel Dews for his frank and unqualified letter of apology to the company’s four million customers for a string of incidents that has seen its network – and customer service – stretched to its limits over the past four months.
Read more: Vodafone apology comes at a critical time for telco industry
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The board of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Teresa Corbin as the peak communications’ body new Chief Executive. Ms Corbin is currently Acting CEO at ACCAN and will move immediately into the new role.
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Telco complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have soared 9% in the last six months taking them near their 2009 record highs and marking a new low for Australian customers, peak communications consumer body ACCAN said today.
Read more: Sky high: 671 people per day call Ombudsman for help