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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) conducted a consultation regarding proposed amendments to the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019. This Determination imposes requirements on carriers, carriage service providers and emergency call persons (Telstra and the National Relay Service provider) regarding access to the emergency call service (000, 112, 106). This consultation was in response to issues raised by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation.

New research by leading telecommunications analyst firm Market Clarity has found nearly 29% of small businesses owners are suffering the same customer service and complaint-handling problems experienced by general consumers, even though the vast majority are paying for business-grade services.

ACCAN’s NBN Consumer Guide is no longer current and is being reviewed to accurately reflect NBN rollout policy changes. We hope to have an updated guide available once the rollout policy changes are finalised.

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ACCAN recently submitted to ACMA’s Draft Telecommunications (Mobile Number Pre-Porting Additional Identity Verification) Industry Standard 2020. ACMA drafted the Standard to help prevent the unauthorised porting of mobile service numbers and reduce the damage done to consumers from this activity.

Mobile number fraud is a gateway to identity and financial theft. ACCAN is aware of numerous reports by victims of fraudulent number porting which reinforce the need for stronger protections.

Peak telecommunications consumer body ACCAN is calling on the ACCC to take action on apps that advertise as free but aggressively encourage or require in-app purchases to keep playing.

Australians need fast reliable broadband as soon as possible so we don't fall behind other economies around the world. The Coalition's election pledge on broadband was to use a mix of technologies to speed up the rollout of the NBN and provide all Australians with download speeds of at least 25mbps by the end of 2016. The minimum speed accessible to all was promised to rise to 50mbps by the end of 2019 for 90% of those living in the fixed-line footprint (FTTP, FTTN and HFC).

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ACCAN recently submitted to the ACMA’s review of the NBN consumer experience rules.

The rules focus on improving the way the telco industry handles consumer complaints about the NBN, provides information about the NBN to consumers, and ensures consumers have access to a working service. The consumer experience rules also provide for the regulation of the migration of services from the legacy network onto the NBN.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network has called on mobile providers such as Telstra and Vodafone to end the rort in exorbitant excess mobile data charges by introducing reasonable hard caps.

Lime Telecom, a pre-paid calling card operator, has been directed to comply with the industry's code having ignored a prior warning from the regulator. The ACMA has found the service provider consistently failed to provide consumers with basic information on prices, expiry dates and fees.

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The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, previously named the Department of Communications and Arts, is looking to trial alternative ways of delivering voice (home phone) services in regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas. The Department is focusing particularly on areas in the high capacity radio concentrator (HCRC) footprint, where voice services are delivered via radio technology, rather than copper or via the Internet.

The Department is seeking feedback on how the trials should be designed, run and evaluated. ACCAN supports the trials as a welcome step towards delivering quality and reliable voice services in regional, rural and remote areas. We argued that a number of improvements could be made to the Department’s proposal, including: introducing performance benchmarks for trial services, developing minimum service assurances for participating consumers, and developing robust feedback mechanisms for all trial participants.

Australians with disability are harnessing gadgets, apps and websites to improve their lives but many are potentially missing out on the digital revolution because some app developers and manufacturers are failing to accommodate the needs of people with disability and older consumers.

ACCAN has recently upgraded its website. If you're having trouble viewing any pages, please press [ctrl] + [F5].

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ACCAN has provided a brief submission to the Communications Alliance review of Guideline G660:2018, Assisting Customers Experiencing Domestic and Family Violence. This Guideline offers education to telco providers about the impacts of domestic and family violence and how they can help customers who are experiencing domestic or family violence.

In our response, ACCAN outlined that more information is needed about whether the Guideline is currently being used by telcos. Once more is known about the use of the Guideline, ACCAN believes that the intended audience of certain parts of the Guideline could be reviewed to make it more user friendly for telco staff. We also suggested that the length of the Guideline could be reviewed given the length of other industry guidance notes regarding domestic and family violence.

New research shows low-income earners are deprived of vital communications services such as basic internet access. ACCAN says the survey findings show that new ideas are needed on improving Australian households’ access to communications services.

ACCAN's first national survey last year produced such a fascinating portrait of consumer experiences, perceptions and concerns that we commissioned a follow-up this year with many of the same questions.

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ACCAN recently submitted to the ACCC’s inquiry into NBN Access Pricing. The inquiry examined the possibility of ACCC regulating the price of entry level NBN services, in order to facilitate consistent pricing for services that are equivalent to legacy ADSL internet services.

ACCAN is supportive of measures being taken to allow for consumers to smoothly transition to NBN services without facing material increases in the price of their existing service.

Although broadly supportive of the ACCC’s inquiry, ACCAN argued that:

  • The best approach to providing pricing relief is through the introduction of a funded concessional broadband service for low income households;
  • If pricing regulation of the NBN is implemented, it should be applied to the 25/5Mbps speed tier rather than the 12/1Mbps speed tier;
  • The proposed retail price point of $60 for (a 12/1Mbps service) was well in excess of what many consumers can afford to pay.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has serious concerns with the competency and transparency under which section 313 of the Telecommunications Act has been used by government agencies to block websites.

In early October, ACCAN attended the 15th annual Remote Indigenous Media Festival held in Ntaria, NT. The festival brought together some of the country's most remote media organisations with funding bodies and policy makers for 7 days of technology workshops and policy discussion.

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The telco industry peak body, Communications Alliance, is reviewing the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) Code. The IPND is a secure database that stores all listed and unlisted public numbers assigned to communications services. These include numbers assigned to a telephone, fax machine, or connected device like a tablet or car that can make and receive calls via Bluetooth. The IPND includes information about the service, including the name of the customer, the telco that provides the number, and the where the ‘service address’ is (that is, the street address where the customer lives or where telephone service is located).

The IPND Code sets out rules for telcos that supply information to the IPND, and for anyone that uses information from the IPND. In a 2018 review of the IPND, the ACMA found that a large portion of information was inaccurate. The IPND Code is being updated to make sure that telcos frequently compare their customer information with information in the IPND, and correct any discrepancies that are discovered.

Australian blindness and consumer organisations have today launched a national campaign to promote the importance of audio description currently being trialled on ABC TV, and appeal to Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy and ABC Managing Director Mark Scott to make the service permanent.

Watch our YouTube videos featuring some of Australia’s best-known disability advocates talking about the technologies and apps that have changed their lives as well as their daily frustrations of dealing with websites and apps that haven’t been made accessible to people with disability.

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The ACMA is reviewing rules about international mobile roaming (IMR) for Australian telcos. They have proposed that International Mobile Roaming rules should be applied via a service provider determination, rather than an industry standard. This makes the rules administratively simpler to change and increases the maximum penalty for non-compliance. The ACMA has proposed a few other updates to mobile roaming regulation with the intention of making the rules more flexible for customers and telcos.

ACCAN supports of some, but not all, of the proposed changes. We agree with the tightening of existing International Mobile Roaming rules. However, we are concerned that some flexibility measures are too discretionary, and fail to provide appropriate consumer protections.

Did you know that the quality standards and safeguards governing your traditional landline service do not apply to voice over IP (VoIP) products?

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The Australian Communications and Media Authority has taken action against two pre-paid calling card providers for failing to provide key information to consumers about their products.

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