The Rural Regional and Remote Communications Coalition (RRRCC) has welcomed today’s announcement by the Regional Communications Minister, Senator Bridget McKenzie that there will be a fourth round of the Mobile Blackspots Program.

“Despite initial disappointment that further funding was not available in this year’s Federal Budget, we are delighted that the Government has made this important announcement today," National Farmers' Federation (NFF) President Fiona Simson said.

ACCAN welcomes the ACMA’s publication today of the first tranche of new rules to improve consumers’ experience in switching to the National Broadband Network (NBN).

The new rules are: Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints Handling) Industry Standard 2018 and, Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record Keeping Rules 2018.

Teresa Corbin, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network CEO (ACCAN) has presented to the Joint Standing Committee (JSC) on the National Broadband Network in Sydney today with a raft of recommendations emphasising the need for improved service standards for satellite, fixed wireless, ADSL and copper legacy technologies for broadband services to regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. Her opening statement concerned the following issues:

The Rural Regional and Remote Communications Coalition (RRRCC) is disappointed the Federal Government failed to commit to funding subsequent rounds of the Mobile Black Spot Program in this week’s Budget.

Improved mobile coverage is essential for Australia’s agriculture sector to become a $100 billion industry by 2030 and is critical for the health and economic well-being of regional communities.

“Mobile coverage is a major problem for a lot of our members.

"The Government’s failure to commit additional funding to the Mobile Black Spot Program is a let-down for regional communities,” Derek Schoen, NSW Farmers President said.

The RRRCC recognises that some mobile black spot towers, funded under previous rounds of the Program, are yet to be built, and urges the Government and industry partners to expedite the roll-out of this vital infrastructure.

"We are huge supporters of the Program. It is delivering for regional communities and businesses, and will continue to do so with current funding," Australian Communications Consumer Action Network CEO Teresa Corbin said.

ACCAN is alarmed that complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have increased by 28.7 percent in the six months to December 2017, compared to the same time the previous year. The peak Australian telecommunications consumer body says the TIO’s latest statistics reinforce the need for urgent industry action to put customers first.

“Continuing high numbers of complaints shine a spotlight on weak consumer protections that have existed in telecommunications for some time. This is upheld by the fact that complaint numbers have increased across the board in mobile, fixed line phones and internet services”, said ACCAN CEO, Ms. Teresa Corbin.

“Arguments about whether complaints are the responsibility of the wholesale provider (NBN) or retail service providers do not help consumers resolve these problems quickly. ACCAN strongly supports the new raft of ACMA rules as they are badly needed - particularly the new complaint handling standard and complaints reporting rules.

 

ACCAN CEO - Teresa CorbinACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin, discussed a range of telecommunications consumer issues in a speech today at the CommsDay Sydney Summit. In particular, Ms Corbin outlined issues related to the ACCC inquiry into the Wholesale Service Standard and the consumer perspective on the ACMA new rules currently out for consultation.

Ms Corbin said “Currently, NBN’s wholesale service standard levels are set out in commercial agreements negotiated by NBN co with retail service providers (NBN’s Wholesale Broadband Agreement) but do not always lead to good outcomes for customers when it comes to connection times, fault repairs, appointment keeping and network reliability’.

The NBN environment is quite complex with a wholesaler, retail service provider and sometimes an aggregator as well involved in providing services to consumers. The ACCC inquiry on “whether NBN wholesale service standard levels are appropriate is strongly supported by consumer groups who believe that regulation is necessary to improve customer experiences.

Cat sitting around laptop requesting broadband speed volunteersACCAN welcomes the release of the first round of results from the ACCC’s Measuring Broadband Australia speed monitoring program, and its generally positive findings. ‘We’ve long been calling for the independent monitoring of broadband speeds so consumers know what they’re likely to be getting when they buy a service. We’re strongly supportive of the ACCC’s work in this area’ ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin said today.

‘Complaints about broadband speeds are at a record high. There is an obvious need for clear and accurate consumer information on what to expect from broadband services’ said ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin. ‘The ACCC’s results make broadband speeds more transparent. This is important, because it helps consumers understand how services are actually performing, and gives them the tools they need to choose services best suited to their needs’.

The latest report shows that NBN fixed broadband plans from iiNet, Optus, TPG, and Telstra are typically delivering download speeds of around 80 to just over 90 per cent of the advertised maximum plan speed at the busiest time of the day (7-11pm), and performing consistently throughout the day. They are also achieving positive uploads speeds.

Young woman looking concerned about her mobil ebill ACCAN welcomes the ACCC’s announcement today that it has commenced proceedings against Telstra for misleading its customers about third party billing services.

ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin said that consumers have been extremely frustrated by these unexpected charges on their telco bills and by the difficulties they experience in resolving them. An ACCAN survey last year found 12% of mobile customers had experienced unexpected third party charges on their mobile phone bills in the preceding 6 months.

‘We’ve been calling for stronger consumer protections in this area for some time, including that all third party charging become opt-in, instead of the current opt-out arrangement’, said Ms Corbin. ‘Many people don’t realise that their mobile phone account can effectively be used like a credit card to purchase third party content, like games credits’.

The ACCC has found that Telstra has earned about $61.7m from commissions on third party premium direct billing.

Today ACCAN is celebrating World Consumer Rights Day. The theme this year is ‘Making digital marketplaces fairer’ and Consumers International is calling for access to fair and secure internet for all, action against scams and fraud, and better consumer protection online. As a member of Consumers International, ACCAN supports this initiative.

“Consumers need to be wary of scams and online fraud which can come in different shapes and sizes,” ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin said. “We urge consumers to sign up to Australian Government scam alerts to stay on top of these issues and report scams when they encounter them.”

Consumers can stay informed about scams by following Scamwatch and Stay Smart Online. They can learn about cybercrime from the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN). Scams can be reported on the Scamwatch website and cybercrime can be reported on the ACORN website. ACCAN also has a tip sheet to help consumers avoid phone and internet scams.

ACCAN welcomes the ACMA’s announcement today of a consultation on proposed new rules that cover telco complaints handling processes and monitoring. This announcement is especially timely given that 15 March is World Consumer Rights Day – a day to raise awareness about consumer rights and needs. Today’s announcement follows the launch of the ACMA’s analysis of the consumer experience moving to the NBN late last year and an announcement of new telco rules from the Minister of Communications and the Arts.

“The experience of migrating to the NBN has shone a light on the inadequacies of the current regulatory framework to support the delivery of essential telecommunications services,” ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin said. “Once in place these new rules will ensure that the regulator has better tools to ensure practices of telco providers improve.

“We congratulated the Minister last year for using his powers, and taking these steps to protect consumers. This consultation on complaints handling and monitoring is the first step in implementing these new rules which we hope will greatly benefit consumers.

New rules that will force telcos to significantly improve the consumer experience in moving to the NBN have been welcomed as an early Christmas present for consumers. ACCAN has been calling for some time for these issues to be addressed and we are very pleased with the Minister for Communications’ and the ACMA’s announcements. This is a huge win for consumers.

“The ACMA’s analysis of issues relating to NBN migration confirms what we already know, and highlights some very concerning complaint trends,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. “The findings reflect the consumer experiences ACCAN has been hearing about as customers switch over to the NBN.”

The ACMA’s report shows that there needs to be better protection to ensure that consumers have access to a working service, that they are given accurate and consistent information and that there is an improvement in complaints handling to ensure quicker resolution of faults and connection problems. Furthermore, the implementation of these new standards will ensure that if the nbn switchover does not work the previous service will be reconnected so no-one is left without these essential services. These are issues which ACCAN has been raising with the industry, regulators and government. These issues are summarised in our Migration Statement.

ACCAN has welcomed the Government’s response to the Productivity Commission report into the existing Universal Service Obligation (USO).

We are pleased that the Government’s response acknowledges that existing arrangements are out of date and in need of reform. We welcome the Government’s commitment to provide universal access to voice and broadband services through a new Universal Service Guarantee (USG) once the NBN rollout is complete.

“All consumers need access to reliable and affordable voice and internet services,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. “Guarantees underpinning access to vital voice and internet services are fundamentally important for areas where the market is not delivering adequately.”

“We look forward to working with the government on this in 2018 and beyond.”

ACCAN will work to ensure the new USG addresses the need for assurances that any new service delivery arrangements will take account of:

ACCAN is disappointed that complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have increased by a massive 41.1 per cent during 2016-17. This rise in complaints is reflective of the experiences we are hearing from consumers and indicates there are systemic issues with customer service in the industry. Customer service was the top complaint issue overall. The report shows that all services and providers saw an increase in complaints indicating a genuine need to update consumer protections.

“We are very concerned about the significant, across the board, increase in complaints for landline, mobile and internet services,” said ACCAN Deputy CEO, Narelle Clark. “This reverses the previous downward trend in complaint levels. We are therefore calling on all providers to lift their game and act to immediately improve customer service and the consumer experience.”

ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin, discussed a range of telecommunications consumer issues in a speech today at the CommsDay Melbourne Congress. In particular, Ms Corbin outlined issues related to nbn’s Special Access Undertaking (SAU) and consumer issues relating to the NBN rollout.

The SAU is a document that establishes the regulatory regime of the National Broadband Network for the next 23 years. ACCAN believes some of the charges proposed in the SAU are unfair for consumers.

“The proposed charge of $150 for consumers who are unable to self-install, for missed appointments or late cancellation of appointments may negatively impact on some vulnerable consumers,” said Ms Corbin. “We are also concerned about the removal of requirements to make rollout information available to the public. Access to this information is useful to many organisations and consumers.”

ACCAN’s 2017 National Conference, ACCANect: Your place in the connected world, will focus on consumer issues related to our increased connectivity and the digital world. It’s being held at the Aerial UTS Function Centre in Sydney over the next two days.

“Digital technology has transformed consumer experiences,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. “Consumers can buy products, access information, and communicate with people anywhere in the world with just the touch of a button. This increased connectivity raises some big questions and implications for consumers.

“As we become more and more connected and government services move online, how can we ensure that everyone can get access to the internet? How safe is our personal information? What information is being collected about us from connected devices? These are some of the issues we’ll explore at the Conference,” added Ms Corbin.

The Regional, Rural and Remote Communications Coalition (RRRCC) today met with members of the National Broadband Network (nbn) executive team, including Chief Executive Officer Bill Morrow, to discuss ways of improving broadband access in rural, regional and remote Australia.

The meeting was instigated by nbn following almost 12 months of extensive activity by the RRRCC to raise awareness of the challenges consumers in rural, regional and remote areas continue to face.

“We appreciate nbn inviting the Coalition to discuss ongoing issues firsthand,” AgForce representative, Georgie Somerset said.

“It is certainly valuable that Bill Morrow and his senior team have taken the time to again meet with us directly and discuss the issues we have.”

Guaranteed access to broadband services for all Australians is a step closer after a Senate Committee last night recommended the Telecommunications Reform Package be passed by Parliament.

The recommendation was welcomed by the Regional, Rural and Remote Communications Coalition (RRRCC).

“We are pleased the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee has taken this view,” National Farmers’ Federation President, Fiona Simson said.

“In effect, this new obligation will, for the first time, legally ensure all Australians have access to broadband.

ACCAN welcomes Telstra’s announcement that it will no longer offer third party mobile subscriptions to its customers from 3 December, 2017. Our recent survey found that as many as 1.9m consumers across Australia have found unexpected third party charges on their phone bills in the previous six months.

“We congratulate Telstra on stepping up and taking action to stop their customers from getting slugged by unwanted third party subscriptions,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. “Consumers have had to put up with these unexpected charges far too long.”

While this is a welcome move, ACCAN is calling for stricter regulation on third party billing because so many consumers are getting caught out (see below for additional safeguards we are calling for).

ACCAN welcomes the ACCC’s guidance to retail service providers (RSPs) on broadband speed claims released today. The guidance should help clear up the consumer confusion around broadband speeds. The informative labels that the ACCC has suggested (basic evening speed, standard evening speed, standard plus evening speed and premium evening speed) will help consumers better understand the speeds they can expect from their services, and provide a useful guide on what level of service performance they are buying.

“At the moment consumers are unable to tell what speed they can expect from a service during busy periods,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. “The ACCC’s advice to RSPs to focus their marketing on speed performance during busy periods will help consumers to know what speeds their services will actually deliver during peak times.

A new survey, commissioned by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), has revealed that 12 per cent of respondents experienced unexpected third party charges on their mobile phone bills in the last six months.

“Applied to the mobile customer base of Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, this 12 per cent equates to almost 1.9m people who could have received unexpected charges on their mobile bills. We estimate that collectively, consumers may have been charged as much as $20m unexpectedly in the last six months*,”said ACCAN Director of Policy, Una Lawrence. “ACCAN is calling for better protections to be put in place so that consumers don’t get caught out with unexpected charges on their mobile bills.”

The ACCAN survey found people are buying apps, games, entering competitions, getting news updates and voting on TV shows and charging it to their mobile accounts. While this may suit some consumers, just under 50 per cent of respondents were unaware their phone could be used this way. Over a third who had incurred unexpected charges reported that they weren’t informed, didn’t consent to or confirm the charge, or understand how or how much they would be charged.

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