Telstra’s decision to charge consumers a fee of $2.20 for paying their bills is ill timed and a bad deal for consumers, according to the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), Australia’s new watchdog for communications consumers.

A new fact sheet "Mobile premium services - Information for consumers" has been developed jointly by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. ---

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Seven projects have been successful in the second round of the ACCAN Independent Grants Scheme.

ACCAN CEO Allan Asher today congratulated the diverse range of recipients including Able Australia Services, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Council on the Ageing WA, Danielle Notara, the Institute for Interactive Media and Learning (UTS), Novita Children’s Services, and a joint project between the Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Centre for Appropriate Technology, and Central Land Council.

The Australian Communication Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) says the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) report, Mobile capped plans, barely scratches the surface of the extent of problems Australian consumers are experiencing in relation to mobile phone bills.

The Australian Communication Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is strongly advising consumers to opt for a pre-paid plan when Apple releases its iPad 3G in Australia on May 28 to avoid the dreaded “bill shock” experienced by 3G smartphone owners hit with excess data usage charges.

National communications consumer organisation ACCAN is pleased to announce the recipients of the first round of funding through its Grants Scheme.

Millions of Australian households will remain protected from unwanted telemarketing calls, thanks to a proposed last minute change to the Do Not Call Register, ACCAN Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation said today.

ACCAN, the national peak communications consumer organisation commends today’s Federal Government’s decision to make all government web sites compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 to its second highest AA level by 2015.

Australia has the potential to be a leader in harnessing the technologies of the National Broadband Network to benefit consumers with disabilities, ACCAN Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation said today.

A new international study commissioned by ACCAN reports on 16 high-speed broadband applications that can provide enormous benefits to people with disabilities.

ACCAN the national communications consumer peak organisation today announced Robin Banks, Kate Cornick and Dr Tim Dwyer as members of its Independent Grants Panel.

Millions of Australian households are set to lose protections against telemarketing calls and have their privacy shattered unless urgent changes are made to the Do Not Call Register, ACCAN Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation said today.

“The flood gates to intrusive and unwanted telemarketing calls are about to open for millions of people who are unaware that their telephone number is about to be kicked off the Do Not Call Register”, said Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) CEO Allan Asher.

Any agreement between Telstra and the NBN Co must be exposed to public scrutiny and doesn’t remove the need for the structural separation of Telstra, said ACCAN, Australia’s peak communications consumer organisation.

ACCAN CEO Allan Asher said the whole country had a stake in the future of the broadband network.
“The community has lost its confidence in Telstra, so an agreement that isn’t explicit, that doesn’t tie Telstra into definite time frames and that doesn’t have a clear schedule for reducing Telstra market dominance, won’t be accepted by the community.