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ACCAN has made a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Mobile Terminating Access Service (MTAS) Review. The review asked whether access to mobile networks should be 'declared' for the purpose of connecting calls.
ACCAN has made a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Fixed Services Review (FSR) 2013. The review asked whether access should continue to be 'declared' to Telstra's copper wire services. 'Declaring' a service allows competitors to Telstra, like iiNet, to access the Telstra copper network at the wholesale level and sell those services at retail.
ACCAN has made a submission to the Australian Communications and Media Authority's (ACMA) review of the quality of service standards for telephone services. Quality of service standards ensure that when you make a call, you and the recipient can hear each other clearly enough, without problems like excess line noise, echo, or delay. An existing industry code (C519:2004) sets out levels of quality that standard telephone services have to meet.
ACCAN has welcomed the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) proposal for a Fair Use exception to copyright. We also point out some potential concerns with the ALRC Discussion Paper.
ACCAN is acutely aware of the low labour market participation for Australians living with disability. Our research in the area of inclusive information and communications technologies indicates that accessible ICT can overcome many of the barriers to employment faced by people with disability.
Most Australian consumers must currently pay a monthly fee of $2.93 or more for a “Silent Line” to make sure that their phone number will not be published in the White Pages. The fee effectively charges people for their privacy and is a particular problem for low-income consumers and victims of crime, harassment or violence. While Telstra has recently proposed an exemption to the Silent Line for customers facing security threats, ACCAN's position remains that the fee should be removed for all consumers.
This submission is ACCAN's response to the Attorney-General's Department's draft Inclusive Communication Guidelines for Emergency Managers, designed to improve access to information and communication for people with disability during times of emergency.
ACCAN is pleased that the Attorney-General’s Department, among other organisations, is working on ways to ensure access to communications and information for people with disability during times of emergency. Our submission notes a number of ways that emergency managers can ensure equitable access.
Read more: Inclusive Communication Guidelines for Emergency Managers
NBN Co’s Special Access Undertaking (SAU) is an important document containing promises from NBN Co about how it will allow access to its network and what services it will offer to telecommunications providers.
Government agencies, telcos, banks and finance companies all collect information from customers in order to identify them. This means that an individual’s personal identity information is kept separately on file by each agency. From a consumer perspective, it means that each time we open an account with, for example, a bank or a telco who we haven’t done business with before, we have to undergo an identity check to prove that we are who we say we are.
For nearly a decade, reports on global roaming have shown that roaming rates are excessively high. ACCAN urges the Australian and New Zealand governments to take action to reduce the high prices consumers pay to use their mobile phone while visiting their closest international neighbour.
Read more: Trans-Tasman Roaming: Response to the Draft Report
The ACMA is holding community consultation on whether – in a converged media environment – broadcast codes of practice should be reviewed and if current 'regulatory interventions' are still relevant.
In ACCAN's submission to the latest NBN Joint Parliamentary Committee hearings, we outlined our engagement on various issues relating to the NBN including the importance of quality voice services and service reporting.