The holidays are a time to celebrate and take a break from work. For some this means visiting family and friends, for others it means getting comfortable on the lounge and binge watching their favourite TV shows.

No matter which streaming service you subscribe to, there are some things you should be aware of before you watch multiple seasons of your favourite shows over the holidays.

Data usage

Depending on the picture quality, streaming services are likely to take a big chunk out of your monthly download limit. Streaming in high definition (HD) can use up to 3GB of data per hour. Standard definition (SD) streaming will use less data, however, the picture quality will not be as good as HD content. Check with your chosen streaming service to see how much data you will use streaming content in HD and SD.

Read more: Tips for online streaming over the holidays

In late 2020 the Department of Social Services consulted on the Outcomes Frameworks for the National Disability Strategy (the Strategy) and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The Outcomes Frameworks are intended to track progress over time to consider whether the Strategy and NDIS are improving the lives of people with disability in Australia.

In ACCAN’s submission, we explained that accessible and affordable digital communications technologies are essential to facilitate a more inclusive and accessible society for people with disability in Australia. We argued that outcomes and measures relating to digital communications technologies must therefore be included in the Outcomes Frameworks for both the Strategy and the NDIS.

Read more: National Disability Strategy and NDIS Outcomes Frameworks

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has today launched the 2015 Apps For All Challenge which aims to find Australia's most accessible apps. After successfully launching last year, it's hoped that this year's competition will draw even more entries and awareness for apps that are accessible to all Australians.

The Apps For All Challenge is Australia's first and only competition that awards accessible mobile apps. The challenge is sponsored by Telstra and will award apps in four categories (see below).

Read more: Nominations open for 2015 Apps For All Challenge

Today on the International Day of People with Disability Vision Australia has launched the Document Accessibility Toolbar (DAT) – a tool that makes it quick and easy to create accessible documents in Microsoft Word.

With funding under the ACCAN Grants Scheme, the DAT was created by accessibility experts from Vision Australia's Digital Access consultancy. The Toolbar adds a simple menu to Microsoft Word with a range of functions to optimise and check a document for accessibility. This means that for Word users creating documents and trying to make them accessible for people with disabilities, a set of dedicated functions will be available in a centralised location to make the process easy. The tool is easy to download and is made to be used by people with limited experience with accessibility.

Read more: Introducing the Document Accessibility Toolbar

The ACMA have proposed new rules to improve telecommunications service standards.

ACCAN supports the draft rules because they ensure telcos pass on to affected customers certain rebates received from wholesalers, such as NBN, when issues of delayed connections and fault repairs, and missed appointments occur. In our submission, we urged that the customer should receive the full amount of rebate, whether that be a direct financial payment or through a measure put in place by their telcos to fix the issue, such as 4G back-up modems.

Read more: Service standards for superfast fixed broadband services – Consumer remedies for missed service...

In a submission on the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has called on the Government to remove ambiguity around Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and subject the scheme to a cost benefit analysis.

Online piracy is a significant issue in Australia which has been caused by a lack of access, delayed release dates and affordability of content. Giving consumers' choice will solve the worst of the piracy problem, so the introduction of streaming services such as Netflix, Presto and Stan is a positive step. The bill requires the blocking of websites which 'facilitate' copyright infringement. This may pick up a number of VPN services which allow Australians to buy content overseas.

Read more: Website blocking bill should address legality of VPNs to reduce piracy

Each year the telecommunications industry recognises an individual for outstanding contributions to telecommunications. Today the Charles Todd medal was awarded to ACCAN's CEO, Teresa Corbin, for her efforts representing consumer interests spanning some 20 years in the industry. As members and supporters of ACCAN know, Teresa's dedication and commitment to ensuring consumers have a voice at the table is second to none, she tirelessly champions affordability, accessibility and availability of communications services for all Australian consumers.

In her speech of thanks, Teresa stressed the importance of addressing consumer interests in the marketplace and noted that the best outcomes were achieved when consumers and industry worked together constructively.

Read more: ACCAN CEO recognised with Charles Todd Medal

ACCAN recently made a submission to the Digital Industry Groups (DIGI) consultation on their voluntary industry Code on disinformation. The Code has been developed in response to ‘Regulating in the Digital Age: Government Response and Implementation Roadmap for the Digital Platforms Inquiry’. The Code outlines what the digital platforms will do to address concerns regarding disinformation and credibility signaling for news content in the Australian context.

Read more: DIGI Draft Disinformation Code

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) congratulates Netflix on its introduction of Audio Description for its original programming. In a blog post, the streaming service announced that it will offer Audio Description on select titles, beginning with its new series, Marvel's Daredevil. Audio Description will also be rolled out to previous seasons of its original programs including House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Marco Polo.

Netflix's announcement overnight follows the launch of the ABC's Audio Description trial on its iview catch-up service which launched yesterday. Audio Description is additional verbal narration that describes visual elements shown on screen during pauses in dialogue. It can describe elements such as scenes, costumes and actions.

Read more: ACCAN congratulates Netflix on introducing Audio Description

Digital inclusion ensures that no one is left behind as we move towards an increasingly digital future. For Social Inclusion Week 2015, we thought we'd outline why digital inclusion is vital for all Australians.

While many of us have smartphones and access to the internet at home, there are some consumers who don't. Two issues often cited as barriers to digital inclusion are affordability and a lack of digital literacy.

Affordability divide

Research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2012–13, 98 per cent of households with a household income of $120,000 or more had internet access, compared to only 57 per cent of households with a household income of less than $40,000, suggesting an 'affordability divide' when it comes to broadband.

Read more: Why digital inclusion matters

The Federal government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is consulting on guidelines for funding proposals by the telco industry under Round 5A of the Mobile Black Spot Program (MBSP). Following our submission on the design of Round 5A, ACCAN has provided additional comments on the draft guidelines.

ACCAN supports elements of the Draft Guidelines introduced to target areas prone to natural disasters, promote competition outcomes in previously under-serviced regions and encourage active infrastructure sharing between mobile network operators and infrastructure providers.

ACCAN also advocated in favour of broadening the eligibility for funding to include:

Read more: Mobile Black Spot Program Round 5A Draft Guidelines

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) would like to congratulate the ABC on the launch of its ABC iview Audio Description trial. Audio Description is additional verbal narration that describes visual elements shown on screen during pauses in dialogue. It can describe elements such as scenes, costumes and actions.

Consumers who are blind or have a vision impairment will be able to access approximately 14 hours of Audio Described content each week. The trial starts today and will run for 15 months. The content will also be useful to consumers with a learning disability as it will enhance their understanding of what is happening on screen.

The Audio Described content is available on the ABC iview iOS app and will eventually be rolled out to the Android app and the iview website as well. This is the first time a streaming service has introduced Audio Described content in Australia.

Read more: ACCAN congratulates ABC on Audio Described iview content

All across Australia Schoolies celebrations are about to begin for many year 12 students. While travelling for Schoolies, or celebrating at parties, young people will undoubtedly have their smartphones with them along the way.

Below we've put together some tips for young people to ensure they use their smartphones safely.

Avoid risky behaviours

What happens at Schoolies doesn't always stay at Schoolies - especially if it's recorded in an image or video on a smartphone.

Read more: Schoolies, sexting and smartphone safety

ACCAN submitted to the review of the ACCC’s Measuring Broadband Australia (MBA) program. Launched in 2017, the MBA measures broadband speeds on NBN Fixed Line broadband services.

ACCAN strongly advocated in favour of retaining the Measuring Broadband Australia scheme because the program has resulted in:

• A decline in the number of consumer complaints;
• Improved broadband performance by encouraging competition between telcos selling NBN Fixed Line broadband services;
• enforcement action against RSPs who have made misleading claims about broadband speeds; and
• Collection and reporting of data that has influenced policy decisions for the benefit of consumers.
  
  

ACCAN also encouraged the ACCC to expand the program to measure the performance of:

Read more: Review of the Measuring Broadband Australia program

In the light of the Dallas Buyers Club Federal Court decision, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is concerned that the Copyright Code will streamline 'speculative invoicing'. Speculative invoicing is the practice where a rights holder sends a letter of demand for payment of damages to an account holder who has allegedly engaged in illegal downloading.

ACCAN has been working with industry and rights holders to develop the industry Copyright Code which today has been submitted to the ACMA. The Code includes a Notice Scheme that will see consumers sent infringement notices if they are alleged to have downloaded pirated material. In our submission to Communications Alliance, we outlined significant concerns in the Code's consumer safeguards.

Read more: Copyright Code will streamline ‘speculative invoicing’: ACCAN

Last week, ACCAN's Disability Policy Advisor, Wayne Hawkins, presented at the NDIS New World Conference 2015 in Brisbane. The theme for the Conference was: Disability in the 21st century.

The event featured speakers from a range of organisations including Apple, National Disability Services, Ernst and Young and the National Disability Insurance Agency.

Wayne sat on the panel of the Universal Accessibility session, facilitated by Sean Fitzgerald, Director C3 Solutions. Other panellists included James Thurston from G3ictr, Daniel Hubbell from Microsoft and Dr Scott Hollier from Media Access Australia.

Read more: Why is accessible ICT important?

The Department of Social Services recently released a position paper and sought feedback from the community on the development of a new National Disability Strategy. ACCAN made a submission to this consultation. Our submission was endorsed by 25 organisations and ACCAN members.

Read more: National Disability Strategy Stage 2 Consultation

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) would like to congratulate the Federal Government on its move to make registrations on the Do Not Call Register indefinite which passed through both Houses of Parliament yesterday. This is great for consumers who will no longer have to re-register their phone numbers on the Do Not Call Register.

"With more than 10 million registered numbers on the Do Not Call Register, indefinite registration is a win for consumers," said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. "The high number of registrations reflects the preference of Australians not to be contacted by telemarketers."

Read more: Big win for consumers: Do Not Call Registrations now indefinite

The Bureau of Communications Research (BCR), a unit established last year in the Department of Communications and the Arts, was asked by the Government to consider the funding of the National Broadband Network (NBN) to regional Australia. The initial policy arrangement saw nbn funding the services, covering any losses internally from other areas of the network. The Government policy now is to distribute the cost further than the nbn network.

The BCR has produced a consultation paper presenting their preliminary findings. Below is a summary of these findings.

Read more: BCR consultation on regional NBN funding

NBN Co sought feedback on its wholesale pricing for selected services. The paper was split into two parts:

• Part A focused on the short term (24 month) residential services discount bundles as well as the cost for connectivity virtual circuit (CVC). CVC is the network capacity purchased by retail service providers (RSPs).
• Part B looks at the longer-term pricing construct of wholesale services, changes to voice only and business grade services as well as an offering to support low-income households.

Read more: NBN Co Pricing Review 2021 – Consultation Paper 1

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is concerned that the proposed anti-piracy Industry Code has some serious flaws in its consumer safeguards. ACCAN has outlined its concerns in a submission to Communications Alliance.

The scheme includes a $25 fee to challenge a false claim made by a copyright holder. In Australia, these types of dispute resolution schemes have traditionally been fee free (for example the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman). While there is a provision for fee waivers ACCAN believes the process for applying will be overly bureaucratic and insufficient to improve affordability issues.

Read more: Consumers shouldn’t have to pay to challenge piracy claims

Australians are spending more time on their mobile phones and we're using more mobile data than ever before.

According to the ACMA Communications Report 2013-14, in the quarter ending June 2014, Australians downloaded 38,734 terabytes of data on mobile devices – a 97.3 per cent increase when compared to the same quarter a year earlier!

With the introduction of 4G, our data needs are forecasted to grow even more. Because of this, it's important to take into account how your provider counts your data and how much they charge for excess data.

Read more: What you need to know about mobile data

ACCAN recently responded to the Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications inquiry into the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No.1) Bill 2021. This Bill proposes amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, including in relation to subscription television captioning rules.

In our submission ACCAN stated that the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 remains the most appropriate place for captioning requirements to be set out. We recommended broader amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to embed the same levels of access features (including captioning, audio description and Auslan interpreting) across all subscription, video on demand, commercial free-to-air and national broadcasters. We made a similar recommendation in response to the Media Reform Green Paper.

Read more: ACCAN response to Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No.1) Bill 2021

The ACCAN event Rethinking the Universal Service Obligation (USO), held in Sydney yesterday, aimed to open up discussion about the USO, and unravel the issues confronting consumers, policy makers and industry in a rapidly changing communications landscape.

The USO is a fundamental consumer protection that ensures a standard telephone service (generally fixed line voice services) and pay phones are accessible to all people in Australia.

"As the technology we use evolves and is used to access more and more services, it's important to examine the current Universal Service Obligation to ensure it is still fit for purpose," said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. "Our sessions throughout the day saw some interesting debate and discussion on what services consumers require today and into the future and how to ensure the right protections are in place. These discussions with stakeholders and key industry players will help inform ACCAN's work in this area."

Read more: ACCAN opens up discussion on the Universal Service Obligation