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The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) would like to congratulate the ABC on the launch of its ABC iview Audio Description trial. Audio Description is additional verbal narration that describes visual elements shown on screen during pauses in dialogue. It can describe elements such as scenes, costumes and actions.
Consumers who are blind or have a vision impairment will be able to access approximately 14 hours of Audio Described content each week. The trial starts today and will run for 15 months. The content will also be useful to consumers with a learning disability as it will enhance their understanding of what is happening on screen.
The Audio Described content is available on the ABC iview iOS app and will eventually be rolled out to the Android app and the iview website as well. This is the first time a streaming service has introduced Audio Described content in Australia.
Read more: ACCAN congratulates ABC on Audio Described iview content
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Beginning 14 April 2015, the ABC will start trialling Audio Description on its iview online catch-up service. The trial will provide approximately 14 hours of audio described content each week and is expected to run for 15 months.
Audio Description is additional verbal narration that describes visual elements shown on screen during pauses in dialogue. It can describe elements such as scenes, costumes and actions.
Audio Description is important and useful for people with a vision impairment and people with a learning disability as it helps to enhance their understanding of what is happening on screen.
Read more: ABC iview Audio Description trial
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Download: 
ACCAN Magazine Issue 15 Autumn 2015.pdf1.47 MB (Note: reading order not acessible)
Download accessible version: 
ACCAN Accessible Magazine - Autumn 2015.docx43.95
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Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) about excess data charges have been steadily dropping over the past year. This is most likely due to better value excess data packs (most telcos now charge about $10 for 1GB) and plans with bigger data allowances being offered by the telcos.
While complaints are down, excess data charges can still be a shock on your monthly bill, especially if you are on a tight budget. Extra data packs that automatically kick in are convenient, but most of these data packs expire when your monthly billing period is up. It is important to watch your data usage because you may spend extra money on data that you might not get to use.
Read more: How much will excess mobile data cost you?
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The Universal Service Obligation (USO) is a vital consumer protection in Australia. The USO ensures a standard telephone service (generally fixed line voice services) and pay phones are accessible to all people in Australia. It was formally introduced in 1991, but it has seen a number of changes over the years.
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With the change in the NBN policy (the move to the multi technology mix model), a number of arrangements previously approved by the ACCC have to be revised. One of these is ACCC's approval of NBN Co buying Optus' HFC (cable) network. The previous approval was for decommissioning of the Optus HFC network infrastructure after the roll out. With the change to a multi technology mix model, NBN Co has now applied to use the Optus HFC infrastructure in its roll out. ACCAN raised concerns that this may not be in consumers' best interest, as greater benefit may arise from the Optus HFC network competing against NBN Co at the wholesale level. However, without access to the detailed figures, it is not clear how much consumers or the NBN Co model would be impacted by not having the Optus HFC.
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics is reviewing what data is collected around information and communication technologies (ICT) and how it is used. ICT data is vital in ACCAN's work to measure and identify consumers who are disadvantaged by poor communications services, and are unable to afford communications products. There are a number of bodies that publish data regularly on telecommunications, but often different definitions are used making the data hard to compare.
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The recent Federal Court decision in the Dallas Buyers Club case is the first of its kind in Australia. The decision means that the internet service providers (ISPs) involved – iiNet and others – will now have to give the Dallas Buyers Club rights holder, Voltage Pictures, the contact information of account holders who allegedly downloaded a pirated copy of the film.
Once this information is handed over, Voltage Pictures is able to send account holders a letter about the activity they allege has happened. In this case the Federal Court is reviewing all letters Voltage Pictures will be sending to account holders to make sure there is no 'speculative invoicing'. This is a fancy name for a demand for money to be paid to the rights holder for pirating the film. These letters might say that the company will take you to court if you don't pay. Speculative invoicing has been used overseas in the US, Canada and UK to intimidate consumers into paying compensation for claims of illegal file sharing.
Read more: Online piracy and speculative invoicing
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In the light of the Dallas Buyers Club Federal Court decision, the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is concerned that the Copyright Code will streamline 'speculative invoicing'. Speculative invoicing is the practice where a rights holder sends a letter of demand for payment of damages to an account holder who has allegedly engaged in illegal downloading.
ACCAN has been working with industry and rights holders to develop the industry Copyright Code which today has been submitted to the ACMA. The Code includes a Notice Scheme that will see consumers sent infringement notices if they are alleged to have downloaded pirated material. In our submission to Communications Alliance, we outlined significant concerns in the Code's consumer safeguards.
Read more: Copyright Code will streamline ‘speculative invoicing’: ACCAN
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The Federal Government's data retention scheme, enacted in March 2015, will come into effect between 13 October 2015 and 12 April 2017. Our fact sheet covers what consumers need to
know.
What is metadata?
Metadata, simply put, is 'data about data'. In telecommunications it is information about communications (e.g. the time a phone call was made and its duration), information about the people communicating (e.g. the sender and the receiver) including account and location information, and the device used. The scheme requires that service providers retain metadata but not the content or substance of a communication. However metadata can still reveal a lot of information about an individual and those they interact with.
Read more: Facts about the Federal Government’s data retention scheme
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The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) would like to congratulate the Federal Government on its move to make registrations on the Do Not Call Register indefinite which passed through both Houses of Parliament yesterday. This is great for consumers who will no longer have to re-register their phone numbers on the Do Not Call Register.
"With more than 10 million registered numbers on the Do Not Call Register, indefinite registration is a win for consumers," said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. "The high number of registrations reflects the preference of Australians not to be contacted by telemarketers."
Read more: Big win for consumers: Do Not Call Registrations now indefinite
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The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is concerned that the proposed anti-piracy Industry Code has some serious flaws in its consumer safeguards. ACCAN has outlined its concerns in a submission to Communications Alliance.
The scheme includes a $25 fee to challenge a false claim made by a copyright holder. In Australia, these types of dispute resolution schemes have traditionally been fee free (for example the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman). While there is a provision for fee waivers ACCAN believes the process for applying will be overly bureaucratic and insufficient to improve affordability issues.
Read more: Consumers shouldn’t have to pay to challenge piracy claims