The first of many issues in 2017 to be a focus for the Regional, Rural and Remote Communications Coalition was the Productivity Commission’s Draft Report for the Inquiry into the Universal Service Obligation (USO).

The USO underpins consumers’ access to phone services, including payphones. While many may have never heard about the USO, it is an important obligation that aims to ensure voice services are available and accessible to all Australians.

Read more: Having a say on the USO (part one)

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.

Read more: ACCAN welcomes broadband advertising guidance

ACCAN has made a submission to the Department of the Treasury’s Exposure Draft Designation for the Telco Sector CDR.

As previously submitted, ACCAN supports the inclusion of the Telco sector in the Government’s CDR regime.

We were pleased to note that many of our previously recommended data sets were included in the Designation. However, we believe that the CDR will provide greater consumer benefit when additional data sets related to broadband speed and reliability are able to be included in the regime.

Read more: Consumer Data Right (CDR) Telco Sector Designation

The Regional, Rural and Remote Communications Coalition is urging the approximately 1200 households who have not yet switched from the Interim Satellite Service (ISS) to the Sky Muster National Broadband Network (nbn) satellite service to do so as soon as possible.

"These households need to switch before 28 February or they will be left without an internet service. They should contact their preferred provider as soon as practicable to arrange a new service," NFF President Fiona Simson said.

Read more: Comms Coalition reminds regional households to switch to Sky Muster before 28 February deadline

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.

Read more: Unexpected mobile charges may be costing consumers millions

ACCAN recently made a submission to the Attorney General’s consultation on the Online Privacy Bill Exposure Draft.

ACCAN supports the implementation of online privacy protections and was pleased to see the following initiatives have been included in the Bill,

Read more: Online Privacy Bill Exposure Draft

This week a Federal Parliamentary Committee is expected to report on a draft bill to amend the Competition and Consumer Act telco specific provisions. In this blog we will outline our assessment of the impact on consumers. This is the approach we took in our response to the Department of Communications and the Arts consultation on the proposed changes in October 2016.

Not surprisingly, Telstra is generally supportive of the removal of the telco specific rules. However, other telecommunications industry providers are taking a different approach as they believe the removal of the specific rules would weaken competition in the telco sector.

Read more: Our take on the telco specific competition law reforms

The Government’s commitment to providing the National Relay Service (NRS) into the future is welcomed, however, ACCAN is concerned about the lack of provision to increase funding even though new relay options were introduced over the last three years.

“The NRS has been a critical communications channel for Australians who are Deaf, hearing-impaired or speech-impaired for more than two decades and it continues to be an essential service for many consumers,” said ACCAN Disability Policy Advisor, Wayne Hawkins.

“The introduction of video relay, SMS relay, two-way internet relay, the NRS app and captioned telephony has made Australia’s National Relay Service a worlds-best service for people who are Deaf, hearing-impaired or speech-impaired and it should be applauded.

Read more: ACCAN voices concerns about proposed changes to the NRS

Recently, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) requested comment on a Ministerial Instrument which will help telecommunications providers to properly authenticate their customers and protect consumers against fraudulent activity and misuse of their telco accounts.

Read more: ACMA Customer ID Determination

Broadband is now considered essential to provide access to services and employment opportunities, as well as entertainment and education. This is true for all consumers, no matter whether they live in regional, rural or remote areas or in the cities.

Reliable broadband connections are also pivotal for small businesses and farmers who often rely on them to run their businesses. Internet connections provide opportunities for farmers to use sophisticated agricultural software to monitor yield predictions and more. But when services fail, there are no guarantees that apply to internet services to ensure faults are fixed within certain timeframes. This can result in long outages, meaning lost money and productivity for farmers and small businesses, and frustration for general consumers.

Read more: A telecommunications guarantee for the future

The Telecommunications Reform Package legislation, introduced to Parliament today, includes a guarantee for all premises to access broadband services.

National Farmers’ Federation Chief Executive, Tony Mahar said the legislation was a win for the Regional, Rural and Remote Communications Coalition and the consumers it represented.

"This is a significant first step to ensuring all premises across the country have access to broadband services, capable of at least 25Mbps per second download and 5Mbps upload speeds."

Mr Mahar said the Coalition was glad to see other improvements to the Bill, which aim to stop the handballing of complaints between network and internet providers and to get complaints addressed more quickly.

"The bill also allows regional services to be funded sustainably and transparently into the future with the Regional Broadband Scheme.

Read more: Broadband wins for regional consumers but reliable telephone services remain a concern

ACCAN has recently responded to a consultation which sought views on nbn Co’s proposal to develop a quality assurance mark (the Mark) for network extension devices. The aim of the Mark is to assist the agricultural sector in reaching its productivity potential via digital technologies, specifically through extending home-based NBN connections beyond the home.

Read more: Connecting Australia’s agricultural landscape

Grand Intentions, a new novel by Professor Trevor Barr, was inspired by the Australian telco industry. The novel tells the story of a fictitious telecommunications company, Telco One, as it undergoes major changes.

Read more: Grand Intentions – a novel about the Australian telco industry

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) welcomes changes to the Telecommunications Reform Package legislation introduced into Parliament today as a big win for all consumers. A number of ACCAN’s concerns will be addressed by the legislation as it contains improved consumer protections.

In particular, ACCAN is pleased to see these changes:

• Statutory Infrastructure Provider provisions will now ensure that all premises can access a network capable of delivering peak retail plans of 25Mbps download speed and 5Mbps upload speeds.
• That no areas will be exempt from the provision.
• Voice capability will be ensured over fixed line and fixed wireless areas.
  
  

The Regional Broadband Scheme, which is also included in the legislation, will ensure regional services are funded sustainably and transparently. There are economic and societal benefits in having everyone connected, therefore ensuring that broadband services are funded sustainably into the future is vital.

Read more: Big consumer wins in Telco Reform Package legislation

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is reviewing 5 legislative instruments which determine how payphones are provided across Australia. The instruments cover payphone location, installation, removal, performance, consultation and complaint handling. In response to the review, ACCAN argued that the instruments should be remade and refined to provide greater consumer protections and to meet the needs of local communities.

Read more: Review of sunsetting payphone instruments

Many small businesses rely on telecommunication services to operate. When services do not deliver, this can result in losses for small business owners.

To get insights into what telecommunication issues small businesses are facing and hear more about what they need from their services, we interviewed the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), Kate Carnell.

Read more: Number one telco issue for small business is ‘access’

The Australian Communications Consumer Action network (ACCAN), with support from Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Alastair McEwin, calls on the Turnbull Government to increase access services for people of all abilities across free-to-air television – which is still our foremost medium for news, information and entertainment. ACCAN is calling for increased captioning across free-to-air multi-channels (like Go and 7Mate) and for the introduction of 14 hours of audio description on ABC and SBS. The call for more accessible television coincides with Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

“The government’s recently announced proposal to eliminate television broadcast licence fees, resulting in a $90 million per year windfall for broadcasters, should be contingent on broadcasters providing greater access services for viewers with disability,” said ACCAN Disability Policy Advisor, Wayne Hawkins. “We have been told for many years that these access services are just not sustainable from both the industry and the government. However, this huge windfall should allow broadcasters to finally make television more accessible to Australians.”

Read more: ACCAN calls for more accessibility on free-to-air TV

ACCAN recently responded to a consultation which sought views on the instruments under Part 20A of the Telecommunications Act 1997 (the Act). Part 20A of the Act requires real estate developers to install fibre-ready ‘pit and pipe’ infrastructure in proximity to buildings prior to the developer selling or leasing the building. The requirement to provide fibre-ready pit and pipe, which facilitates fibre installation in new developments (with exemptions to the requirement captured in a 2011 Instrument and a 2021 Instrument) is now under review.

Read more: Review of instruments under Part 20A of the Telecommunications Act 1997

A group of community organisations is calling the future Federal Government to increase assistance to people and families on low incomes in light of new data highlighting telecommunications exclusion.

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), the South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) and Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) are calling for a review of the Centrelink Telephone Allowance (CTA), pointing to the inadequacies of current entitlements in supporting low-income consumers to stay connected to phones and the internet. The CTA is a quarterly allowance designed to help consumers on income support payments to stay connected to telecommunications services.

“In our digital age telecommunications services are just as essential as water and energy,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. “Accessible, available, and affordable communications have the potential to increase the social, economic, and community participation of all Australians. It’s vitally important that all consumers have access to communication services that are affordable so they can take advantage of government services, education and employment opportunities.”

Read more: New data highlights telecommunications exclusion

ACCAN has recently made a submission to the Treasury on its Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS), which explores possible changes to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The changes are aimed at helping consumers access remedies (e.g. a repair, replacement, or refund) when a product or service doesn’t work the way it should. The Consultation RIS also explores ways to help retailers get compensation from manufacturers when a product is faulty. ACCAN supported some of the changes proposed in the RIS, including the introduction of incentives to make sure retailers always provide a remedy when consumers are entitled to one.

Read more: ACCAN feedback on Treasury Consultation Regulation Impact Statement on changes to the Australian...

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has identified five communications consumer priorities for the 2016 Election. These are: communications affordability, future consumer protections, broadband performance monitoring, accessible ICT procurement and accessible programming on TV.

Read more: ACCAN identifies communications consumer priorities for the 2016 Election

The Australian mobile network providers have all announced the switch off of their 2G networks:

• Optus’ 2G network will switch off from 3 April, 2017
• Vodafone’s 2G network will switch off on 30 September, 2017
• Telstra’s 2G network was switched off on 1 December, 2016
  
  

This article has information for consumers using 2G services on the Optus and Vodafone networks.

Read more: 2G network switch offs – what you need to know

ACCAN recently responded to a consultation on revising the ACCC’s Broadband Speed Claims Industry Guidance (the Guidance). The ACCC are considering changes to reflect recent developments in the market including the growing importance of upload speeds and the growth of alternative fixed wireless access networks.

Read more: Consultation on revising the Broadband Speed Claims – Industry Guidance

Many vital services and equipment use telecommunications infrastructure to work, such as telephone and voice services, internet, disability equipment (tele-typewriters), fax machines, medical alarms, security alarms, EFTPOS machines and emergency elevator phones.

These services and equipment may be affected in the switch over to the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Read more: NBN – not just about internet services!