The 2015 edition of the P3 CommsDay Mobile Benchmark Australia shows improved results from the three carriers tested – Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Now in its second year, the benchmark compares the three network operators against each other and also against their scores last year.

ACCAN congratulates P3 and CommsDay on this important initiative because it provides consumers with independent benchmarking so they can make informed decisions. Improved consumer decision making is one of ACCAN's Policy Priorities for 2015-16.

The benchmark measures smartphone voice and data performance and is based on weeks of extensive testing around the country. The tests measure voice call quality, success rates, download and upload speeds, website access and video streaming performance.

Read more: Australian mobile benchmark shows improved network coverage

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications sought comments on proposals to amend part 20A of the Telecommunications Act 1997 to boost pit and pipe provision in new developments.

Currently unincorporated developers are not required to build the necessary pits and pipes to allow network providers to install telecommunications in new buildings. Whilst most developers provide the necessary infrastructure to support telecommunications, there are a small number of premises built, in areas serviced by fixed-line telecommunications networks, without telecommunications pit and pipe, leading to inconvenience and additional costs for occupants of these premises.

This problem affects up to 3,000 premises a year and comes at a cost to new occupants as they will experience a lack of service, delays in service, cost of retrofitting and the cost of interim services.

Read more: Proposed amendments to Part 20A of the Telecommunications Act 1997 to reduce delays and cost to...

Recent statistics show that almost two thirds of Australians are on Facebook, yet according to the 2014 Yellow Social Media Report, only 36 per cent of small businesses have a social media presence. And, despite investing their time in using social media to promote their business, almost three in 10 have no strategy to drive traffic to their sites.

In response to this gap, online training website, Digital Ready, has released a free guide for small business owners on how to use social media to their advantage. The free guide called 'Social Media for Business – a beginner's guide' was developed with small businesses, not for profit organisations and clubs in mind to help them better understand the ins and outs of social media and how they can use it to grow their business.

Read more: Too many small businesses aren’t using social media

The internet offers exciting opportunities and experiences for kids and teens. But for some parents it can seem like a dark forest fraught with danger.
While there are great aspects of technology, it should be remembered that the internet could potentially expose children to harmful content, cyberbullying or contact with strangers.

To coincide with Stay Smart Online Week, we're sharing our top tips for online safety for kids and teens.

How to approach cybersafety

It's more than likely that your kids are using computers or tablets regularly at home and at school. In fact a 2013 study from the ACMA found that 95 per cent of eight to 11 year olds had accessed the internet 'in the last four weeks.'

Read more: Cybersafety for kids and teens

Communications Alliance, the peak body for the telco industry, is undertaking a routine review of C515:2015, the industry Code on Pre-Selection.

Pre-selection allows consumers with landline phone services on the copper network to use one telco for certain types of calls, but another for different types of calls, such as calls to mobile or international numbers. The Pre-Selection Code sets out technical processes for the industry to follow when establishing and delivering pre-selectable services.

In our submission, ACCAN said that while consumer demand for pre-selection has dropped substantially, the Pre-Selection Code should remain in place until the telco regulator, the ACMA, revokes or changes the Pre-Selection Determination.

Read more: ACCAN feedback on Comms Alliance Pre-Selection Code

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has been concerned for some time that a copyright notice scheme under an Industry Code will impact consumer access to the internet through sanctions and increased cost. Any notice scheme introduced must respect consumer protections. ACCAN has been participating in the draft Code development process to ensure these concerns are heard.

Consumers rely on internet access for jobs, education and a range of other activities. Measures which limit access, such as speed throttling or disconnection would directly impact a consumer's ability to engage fully in society. While express sanctions against consumers have been kept out of the draft Code, we remain concerned that the evidence gathered through this Code will enable rights holders to disconnect consumers through court based action.

Read more: Copyright notice scheme must respect consumer protections

After experiencing a traumatic marriage breakdown, Michelle^* fled with her children to a safe location expecting to be free of the violence they had experienced. Over the ensuing months she found herself encountering her ex-husband in all sorts of locations unexpectedly, and started to face the abuse all over again. He then moved to sending abusive text messages, so Michelle changed her number, only to start receiving them again soon after.

Unable to understand why this was happening, Michelle sought the help of an IT savvy friend, only to discover her children had tracking software on their phones and that her computer also had spyware which her ex-husband had been using to keep track of her. This is known as 'technology-facilitated stalking and abuse.'

Read more: Technology-facilitated stalking and abuse

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications released the Media Reform Green Paper: Modernising television regulation in Australia in December 2020 for consultation.

The Green Paper proposed that:

• Australian broadcasters and free-to-air television networks may be able to make a ‘one-time transition' to a new broadcaster's licence with reduced tax and content quotas on multichannels.
  
  
• In exchange, those who take up the ‘new licence' must agree to transmit content on reduced radiofrequency spectrum, with surplus spectrum to be auctioned off to the telecommunications industry and proceeds used to funds to finance Australian screen content production and local news.
  
  
• Large Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD) services and Advertising Video-on-Demand (AVOD) providers may be forced to invest into Australia's screen industry.

Read more: ACCAN response to Media Reform Green Paper

Today at the Communications Vision 2030 event held in Canberra, ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin, delivered a presentation that outlined the consumer experience of communication services. The presentation explored the current situation and what can be done to improve consumer access to telecommunications services.

The Communications Vision 2030 project was launched in November and is a partnership between the Competitive Carriers' Coalition, Hume Regional Development Australia, the Council of Small Business of Australia (COSBOA) and ACCAN. The initiative aims to shape a digital vision and generate a set of goals for Australia to achieve global digital age leadership.

Read more: Affordable and quality telecommunications services a win for everyone: ACCAN

Last week Vision Australia and a number of people who are blind or have low vision met with MPs at an event in Canberra to demonstrate audio description and lobby for its inclusion on TV. The event was organised in partnership with Greens Senator, Rachel Siewert, and was co-sponsored by Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull MP, and Shadow Minister for Communications, Jason Clare MP.

Audio description on television is a verbal description - provided during gaps in dialogue - of visual elements such as scenes, settings, actions and costumes. You can get a sense of how it works from Vision Australia's YouTube video.

Vision Australia's Tell the whole story campaign encourages the Federal Government to implement audio description on Australian television so it can be enjoyed by the 350,000 people who are blind or have low vision.

Read more: Vision Australia pushing for audio description on Australian TV

The Western Australian Government recently sought feedback on a blueprint which outlines its vision and approach for making WA a digitally inclusive state.

ACCAN made a submission to this consultation and supported the blueprint’s four priority areas of connectivity, affordability, skills and design. These areas broadly align with ACCAN’s policy priorities and feedback we regularly receive about access to communications products and services. In our submission we provided a brief overview of these priority areas, with a particular focus on affordability and accessibility issues.

Read more: Digital Inclusion in Western Australia: A Blueprint for a digitally-inclusive state

Note: the list of providers still charging for calls to 1800 numbers in this release is now out of date. See this tip sheet for up to date information on which providers still charge for 1800 calls from mobile phones.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is disappointed to learn that a number of Australian telcos have yet to make all 1800 number calls free from mobile phones for consumers (see below for list). It's now well past the 1 January, 2015 delivery date proposed by the telco industry to implement this change, with the blessing of the ACMA. Previously ACCAN noted that consumers would hold the industry to its commitments in regard to 1800 numbers.

"Six weeks past the delivery date the number of telcos that have yet to implement this change is disappointing," said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. "It's unfair for some consumers who are still paying for mobile calls to 1800 numbers which are used by essential services like Centrelink, financial counsellors, and drug, alcohol and mental health services. These organisations are keen to let their clients know they can call their 1800 contact numbers for free."

Read more: Some consumers still paying for 1800 number calls from their mobiles

The ACCAN Annual General Meeting was held in Sydney on Wednesday, 2 September, 2015. At the meeting the following three candidates were elected to the Board:

• Sandra Milligan
• Ryan Sengara
• Chris Dodds

Congratulations to returning directors Sandra and Ryan and a warm welcome to Chris who is joining the ACCAN Board for the first time.

These three new Board members join the six continuing Directors below whose terms conclude at the 2015 and 2016 ACCAN AGM.

Read more: Results of ACCAN Board Election

Mobile Premium Services (MPS) allow consumers to pay for digital content (like apps or games) and services (like competition entries, voting and charity donations) on their mobile phone account or using pre-paid credit.

Rules about MPS are contained in the MPS Industry Code and two pieces of regulation called Determinations. The MPS Industry Code, is being updated with provisions from MPS Determination 1, so that Determinations 1 and 2 can be repealed in April 2021.

ACCAN is not aware of any issues repealing MPS Determination 1, so long as all key consumer protections are transferred to the MPS Code. ACCAN has identified one key rule in Determination 1 that appears not to have been incorporated in the draft Code: the requirement to provide a customer-convenient service to facilitate the barring of MPS services. This rule should be transferred to the draft Code so customers can easily bar MPS. ACCAN also expressed its concerns regarding the potential removal of important consumer protections contained in Determination 2.

You can read ACCAN’s feedback on the 2019 MPS Industry Code here.

Read more: ACCAN feedback on draft MPS Code

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), the peak body for communications consumers in Australia, has opposed costs being worn by consumers should a data retention bill be passed by Parliament.

In a submission on the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014 to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, ACCAN recognised that in many cases access to communications data by criminal law-enforcement agencies is legitimate and necessary. However, robust and independent oversight mechanisms are crucial to ensure the privacy of Australian citizens is not compromised unduly.

Read more: Data retention: consumers shouldn’t wear increase in phone and internet costs

Our 2015 Conference, Dollars and Bytes – Communications affordability now and tomorrow, is fast approaching! Only one week to go, so now is the time to register before registration closes at midnight on Friday, 28 August. (Due to browser settings some people may have trouble connecting to the registration site using Firefox. If this is the case, please use another browser such as Google chrome).

It's going to be a great two days. We've got over 40 speakers and panellists from a range of organisations across industry, community groups and government.

Access the full Conference Program online. Some of the presentations and sessions to look forward to are:

• The keynote by Claire Milne, Visiting Senior Fellow, Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics
• The opening address by the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP, Minister for Communications
• Presentation by ACCC Chairman, Rod Sims
• Presentation by Digital Transformation Office CEO, Paul Shetler

Read more: One week until the ACCAN Conference!

The Digital Technology Taskforce was established by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in November 2019 with the purpose of ensuring Australia is a leading digital economy by 2030. The Digital Technology Taskforce is looking to develop a Digital Australia Strategy to this end.

The Digital Technology Taskforce has set out the following themes to inform the Digital Australia Strategy:

• Moving more businesses to the digital frontier
  
  
• A digitally capable and inclusive Australia
  
  
• Building digital trust
  
  
• Digital-first Government
  
  
• Lifting sectors through digital technology
  
  

ACCAN strongly supports the development of a Digital Australia Strategy. Our submission highlights the need for this Strategy to address telecommunications affordability, reliability and accessibility – as well as the many barriers to access – for communications consumers.

Read more: ACCAN feedback on Digital Australia Strategy

The Australian Communications Consumer Action network (ACCAN), the peak body for communications consumers in Australia, congratulates the Federal Government on its inclusion of 'accessibility' in the current Request For Tender (RFT) of ICT Hardware and other Services.

Acknowledging 'desirability' of products and services to meet international best practice standards of accessibility will help ensure that digital information and services provided by government agencies will be accessible to Australians with disability.

Read more: ACCAN Welcomes Inclusion of Accessibility in Government Tender

After a lot of hype, Microsoft has finally delivered Windows 10.

With a bunch of new features and improvements, such as a good firewall and rapid start-up of your favourite programs, it is a very attractive computer interface, but there is a real sting in the tail if you are someone on a restricted internet plan!

First of all to upgrade to Windows 10 you have to download the whole thing from Microsoft.

Read more: Is Windows 10 free? Not entirely

Infrastructure Australia recently undertook an industry consultation for its Regional Strengths and Gaps project. ACCAN provided a response to this consultation.

In our response ACCAN highlighted the Wamboin Communications Action Group as a strength in terms of their success in improving connectivity in their area. This group is now providing guidance to other communities across Australia with similar aspirations. Similarly, ACCAN’s Community Consultation Guide provides information to communities to put together a business case for investment via the Mobile Blackspot Program.

Read more: Infrastructure Australia's Regional Strengths and Gaps project

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), the peak body representing communications consumers in Australia, has launched its Community Consultation Guide, which is designed to help communities address issues with mobile coverage in their areas.

Mobile coverage is a key issue for consumers, particularly those in regional, rural and remote Australia. Achieving improvements in mobile coverage is a priority focus of ACCAN's work. Earlier this month, we welcomed the release of the guidelines for the Federal Government's Mobile Black Spot Programme, but know that even with the improvements the Programme will deliver, demand for improved network coverage will far outstrip supply.

Read more: ACCAN Launches Mobile Coverage Community Consultation Guide

With the 2015 ACCAN Conference fast approaching, we can now reveal the shortlist for the second Apps For All Challenge!

The Challenge acknowledges those Australian developed apps which are most accessible for all consumers, including consumers living with a disability or older Australians. An accessible app is designed with the largest number of people in mind. Accessibility is not only crucial for the almost 1 in 5 Australians living with some form of disability, but it also means developers can target millions more customers who were previously locked out of the app market.

This year’s Challenge is sponsored by Telstra. The lucky winners will receive a cash prize from Telstra as well as promotion through Telstra’s social media channels.

We’ll be announcing the winners at a ceremony on 1 September at our National Conference, Dollars and Bytes – Communications affordability now and tomorrow. You can register here to attend.

Good luck to all of the shortlisted apps and developers!

Read more: Apps For All Challenge shortlist announced

The ACCC has resumed its inquiries into NBN’s access pricing and wholesale service standards. ACCAN has previously responded to these inquiries:

• NBN’s access pricing discussion paper
  
  
• NBN’s wholesale service standards discussion paper
  
  
• NBN’s wholesale service standards second discussion paper
  
  
• NBN’s wholesale service standards draft decision
  

  Read more: ACCC inquiries into NBN access pricing and wholesale service standards

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), the peak body for communications consumers in Australia, has launched an online Hardship Portal – a set of resources to assist people through tough times.

The Portal is designed for financial counsellors as well as consumers experiencing financial hardship. It provides links to the hardship policies of Telstra, Optus and Vodafone and outlines how to get help and the different options available.

Read more: ACCAN Launches Hardship Portal