Hot Issues
Welcome to the latest current affairs that impact communications consumers.
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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
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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
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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’
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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
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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!
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The ACCAN Annual General Meeting was held in Sydney on Thursday, 15 September, 2016. At the meeting the following three candidates were elected to the Board:
- Sarah Wilson
- Dean Barton-Smith
- Nadia Moffatt
Congratulations to returning director, Dean, and a warm welcome to Sarah and Nadia who are joining the ACCAN Board for the first time.
Read more: Results of ACCAN Board Election
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If your broadband speeds are consistently lower than those advertised by your internet service provider (ISP) or is unreliable at any time during the day, you should contact your provider and clearly state that you want to make a complaint.
Explain how your internet is slow or unreliable. Evidence, such as recorded speed tests (many IPSs offer this on their website, or you can try other online speed tests such as Ookla’s Speedtest) or examples of times when you are unable or have difficulty using the service.
Read more: How to make a complaint about slow broadband speeds
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Similar to the ACCC’s consultation on broadband speed claims, regulators in other countries are trying to ensure that ISPs deliver on their broadband speed claims.
In the UK, the regulator is considering forcing broadband and mobile operators to pay automatic compensation to customers when services fail or when they are suffering slow speeds.
Read more: Broadband speed claims – what's happening overseas?
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With the Federal Election campaign now over, ACCAN congratulates Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield and Senator the Hon Fiona Nash who continue in their roles as Minister for Communications and Minister for Regional Communications respectively for the Turnbull Government. The Federal Member for Greenway, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP and the Federal Member for Throsby – Stephen Jones take up the roles of Shadow Minister for Communications and Shadow Minister for Regional Communications respectively.
We are pleased that during their campaigns both the Coalition and Labor made announcements of an additional $60 million in funding for a third round of the Mobile Black Spots Programme. This is vital as mobile coverage and competition in rural areas continues to be is a key issue for many consumers.
In the lead up to the election, ACCAN called for the parties to focus on five communications consumer priorities and we asked them a series of questions based on these priorities. We covered announcements from the Coalition, Labor and the Australian Greens on NBN policy, digital literacy and accessibility. While we didn’t receive specific answers to our questions, some of these were answered by the announcements from the parties during the campaign.
Read more: ACCAN Federal Election wrap up
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New website gives consumers a head start in 3D printing
The number of users connecting to each other on the internet to find, share, and create 3D printed objects has proliferated in the last few years. But what do consumers need to know before printing in 3D?
Read more: Can I download a car?
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The full program for the ACCANect Conference is now available online.
Like previous years, the Conference has attracted a high calibre of speakers and panellists including: the new Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Judi Jones, the new Disability Commissioner, Alastair McEwin, the new Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, as well as consumer representatives such as CHOICE and Consumer Affairs Victoria.
Read more: ACCANect Conference speakers and panellists revealed
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Increasingly providers are advertising and pricing broadband plans based on speed; stating exact speeds that they can provide such as up to ‘12/1Mbps’, ‘25/5Mbps’ or ‘100/40Mbps.’ They are also using terms and price tiers that imply faster speed levels such as ‘high speed internet’, ‘super boost’, ‘lightning fast’, ‘superfast’ or ‘max speed.’
ACCAN is concerned that consumers are negatively affected by the lack of clarity about what these claims mean. The ACCC has raised concerns regarding consumer information about broadband and says these speed claims and terms “might misrepresent the speeds that the retail broadband service can consistently achieve, especially during peak periods”.
Read more: Have your say on broadband speed claims
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