Hot Issues
Welcome to the latest current affairs that impact communications consumers.
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Telstra admitted that over 100,000 of its customers were misled over third party charges by its Premium Billing service.
Yesterday, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched proceedings against the telco giant, alleging that Telstra made false or misleading representations to consumers regarding its third party billing services.
Read more: Telstra misled its customers over third party charges
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The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) is an independent, consumer-focused policy think-tank.
In December 2016, the Victorian Government established CPRC as a generalist policy research centre by expanding the remit of what was then the Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre (CUAC).
CPRC undertakes evidence-based research to inform policy reform and business practice changes that improve consumer outcomes. The organisation conducts policy research internally, as well as in partnership with other research organisations. It also promotes, translates and supports the consumer research work of others.
Read more: Advancing fair outcomes for all consumers
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The National Relay Service, audio description services and accessible ICT procurement were among the issues on the agenda at ACCAN’s 2018 Disability Advisory Forum on Wednesday 7 March in Sydney.
Held yearly, the Disability Advisory Forum brings together groups representing people with disability to discuss telecommunications issues and accessibility and advises ACCAN on its policy priorities for the upcoming year.
Read more: Accessibility issues in 2018
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In our 2018-19 Pre-Budget submission, we took the opportunity to highlight telecommunication areas that could benefit from more funding in the Federal Budget.
Our recommendations span a range of issues, from mobile coverage to affordability and accessibility. Many of these are not new recommendations, but they are ones that are important to consumers and worth highlighting once again.
Read more: Calling for telecommunications funding in the Federal Budget
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ACCAN has welcomed Telstra’s announcement that it will no longer charge its customers for having a Silent Line from 18 February, 2018.
Having a Silent Line means that your number is not listed in a public directory or displayed on the recipient’s handset when you make a call. Previously, Telstra customers had to pay $2.93 per month for this service.
Read more: Telstra has scrapped Silent Line fees
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ACCAN’s submission to the Independent Review into the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) highlighted the important role of the TIO, but also identified a number of areas for improvement.
The final report agreed with ACCAN’s recommendations that there is a need for:
Read more: Positive outcomes from TIO review
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With many people travelling or taking time off over the holidays, we thought we’d share some tips to help you keep track of your data usage, use your phone overseas and get issues resolved.
Mobile
If you are travelling locally you may be more reliant on your smartphone and you might find your data allowance getting used up more quickly. Check out our tip sheet on how to use less data on your smartphone and our blog on how much excess data will cost you.
Read more: Phone and internet tips for the holidays
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RRR Communications Coalition celebrates one year
By Teresa Corbin & Fiona Simson*
Anyone who lives in a rural or regional area knows the pain of poor telecommunications services. We often hear stories of people pulling their hair out trying to run businesses, apply new technologies and educate their kids on small data allowances and unreliable connections.
Read more: All we want in 2018 is #BetterBushComms
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nbn announced today that it will 'pause' the rollout of NBN HFC connections. This is because nbn has identified issues in the HFC rollout that need remediation, and will be taking a more careful approach that should result in improved customer experience. ACCAN welcomes this approach.
Consumers in HFC areas may be wondering how this announcement will affect them. We have identified five different situations that consumers may find themselves in. See below for information on how consumers in HFC areas may be affected.
Read more: nbn ‘pauses’ new HFC connections
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In November, the ACCC announced that Telstra will offer remedies to around 42,000 customers. Announcements that Optus would compensate more than 8,700 of its customers and that TPG would compensate nearly 8,000 of its customers for the same issue were made in December.
Both announcements received wide coverage in the media. There is some confusion around the issue and who is entitled to a remedy. This blog attempts to clear up this confusion.
What is the issue?
While there are a number of issues that consumers are reporting with services over the NBN, this compensation relates to a very specific problem where the maximum download speed consumers paid for was never possible at their premises.
Read more: Getting a refund for unattainable NBN speeds
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Many Australian not-for-profit organisations and businesses currently have domain names for their internet presences under the second level domains. For example: *.com.au and *.org.au. Domain names are used to find resources and services on the internet such as web pages (eg www.accan.org.au) and email addresses (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Recently, auDA, the body responsible for Australia’s domain name system agreed to introduce ‘direct registrations’. This is where your chosen internet domain name does not use the familiar “.com.au”, “.net.au”, “.org.au”, and new names will be simply “orgname.au”.
Read more: Australia’s Domain Name System is changing
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In the flurry of media this week about the TIO Annual Report and 41 per cent increase in telecommunication complaints received, Communication Alliance and nbn both made reassuring comments about the state of the problem.
But how reassured should we be?
Communications Alliance is “pleased” that in the last three months the rate of complaints slightly decreased (from 9 per 10,000 services in operation between Apr-Jun 2017 to 8.3 per 10,000 Jul- Sept 2017).
Read more: Fact Check: Communication Alliance and nbn media releases
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