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ACCAN has made a number of recommendations for changes to Communication Alliance's draft Emergency Call Service Requirements Code.
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The capacity of communication networks and emergency warning systems to deal with emergencies and natural disasters
Friday, 15 April 2011
The tragedy of the recent Queensland floods has provided insight into the state of Australia's emergency services. The disaster has particularly highlighted the shortcomings of the emergency service and warning systems framework for Australians with disability.
Read more: capacity of communication networks and emergency warning systems
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ACCAN and the Internet Society of Australia have recently launched NBN: A Guide for Consumers, which provides answers to many questions you may have about the National Broadband Network. It is available via the link above or the Research reports tab on the left-hand side of the Broadband page, including fully accessible versions in audio and Auslan (Australian sign language). Speeches from the launch are available by following the read more link below.
Read more: NBN Guide for Consumers
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The Internet Society of Australia (ISOC-AU) and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), today launched NBN: A Guide for Consumers, designed to offer all Australians simple information about the National Broadband Network.
Read more: Senator Conroy launches ACCAN’s NBN: Guide for Consumers
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The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and Media Access Australia (MAA) commissioned the Australia Institute to research the level of the Australian community’s awareness and use of closed captions on TV.
Research report on caption awareness [Adobe PDF - 117 KB]
Research report on caption awareness [Word - 99 KB]
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The tragic events in Queensland have demonstrated many of the strengths and unfortunately some of the weaknesses of Australia’s emergency services and warnings systems. This report explores one important dimension of our emergency management framework, namely access to emergency services and emergency information by people who have a disability, particularly those who are Deaf or have a speech or hearing impairment.
Read more: The Queensland flood disaster: Access for people with disability
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Peak telecommunications consumer body ACCAN body says the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) needs to be given greater powers, including the ability to charge telcos more to resolve complaints and the right to award compensation to customers when a telco breaches its consumer protection obligations, in order to bring about real change to the industry.
Read more: Telco ombudsman must hit telcos’ hip pockets to encourage real change
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The Footscray Legal Community Centre (FCLC) together with ACCAN has today released a damning report that documents the experiences of 16 new Australian migrants and finds that in many cases telcos are taking advantage of this already disadvantaged and highly vulnerable group.
Read more: Phone, internet plans “incomprehensible” for African and Burmese refugees and migrants
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Download: About the National Relay Service59 KB
Download: About the National Relay Service422.3 KB
People who are Deaf, hearing-impaired or speech-impaired are unable to access telecommunications without specialised equipment and services. Since 1995, the Australian Government has overseen a National Relay Service (NRS) which enables people with these disabilities to conduct real-time conversations with other people. The funding for the NRS is provided by a levy on eligible telecommunications carriers.
The NRS offers a number of different relay services allowing greater communication options for people who are Deaf, hearing impaired or speech impaired. These include:
Read more: About the National Relay Service
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A new report about emergency services during the Queensland floods says major issues with the National Relay Service (NRS), based in Brisbane, left some people with hearing or speech impairments unable to contact emergency services.
Read more: Queensland flood highlights need to fix Triple Zero accessibility
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Telco complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have soared 9% in the last six months taking them near their 2009 record highs and marking a new low for Australian customers, peak communications consumer body ACCAN said today.
Read more: Sky high: 671 people per day call Ombudsman for help
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Peak communications body ACCAN commends Vodafone CEO Nigel Dews for his frank and unqualified letter of apology to the company’s four million customers for a string of incidents that has seen its network – and customer service – stretched to its limits over the past four months.
Read more: Vodafone apology comes at a critical time for telco industry