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The telco regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), is updating two parts of the NBN Consumer Experience Rules: the Service Migration Determination, and the Service Continuity Standard. These rules set out how providers should move customers from their old service over to the NBN, including making sure not to turn off the old service before the new one is working, and developing a plan if the new service isn’t working after 20 days. The proposed changes to these rules seek to clarify key terms and obligations.

ACCAN supports most of the proposed changes. However, ACCAN doesn’t support changes about information a provider needs to tell a customer about the cause of and solution for a problem with their new NBN service. ACCAN has previously commented on the NBN Consumer Experience Rules, and you can read more about this here.

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Standards Australia is an independent non-government organisation responsible for the development of Australian Standards. Standards Australia is reviewing its corporate governance and membership system to assess whether it is fit for purpose.

Our submission acknowledges Standards Australia’s existing commitment to consumer representation in standards development. ACCAN encourages Standards Australia to make changes to its corporate governance structure and membership system to expand the role of consumer organisations, and increase their participation in Standards Australia’s governance.

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SkyMuster Guide - 3rd Edition Cover Graphics

Sky Muster and Sky Muster Plus (or nbn’s Satellite Services) provide fast broadband coverage to around 430,000 homes and small businesses across regional, rural and remote Australia and its islands.

The 3rd edition of this extensive, easy to understand guide is now available for download in PDF and Word formats.

It covers topics such as:

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ACCAN Winter Magazine 2020

Download: pdfACCAN Magazine Issue 36 Winter 20201.45 MB

Download accesible version: docxACCAN Magazine Issue 35 Winter 202039.18 KB

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The Department of Communications and the Arts has drafted an exemption instrument to the new Statutory Infrastructure Provider (SIP) obligations that started on 1 July 2020. The SIP obligations require NBN and any other carriers providing telecommunications services in existing and new developments to provide high speed internet (broadband) and voice services on request.

ACCAN supports the exemption instrument proposed by the Department for the following reasons:

  • It allows carriers providing voice and mobile services (for example, Telstra fixed voice services; mobile network operators) to continue to do so without being bound by SIP obligations; this ensures that they are not deterred in providing these services.
  • The exemption will support continuity of these important services for consumers and small businesses.
  • ACCAN notes that this does not affect Telstra’s ongoing obligation to provide fixed voice services outside NBN’s fixed line footprint under the Universal Service Obligation, and that NBN will in most cases be obliged by SIP obligations.

 

Download: docxConsultation on Draft Statutory Infrastructure Provider Exemption Instrument Blurb71.77 KB

Download: pdf Consultation on Draft Statutory Infrastructure Provider Exemption Instrument Blurb151.25 KB

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The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is developing a trial to assess alternative ways of delivering voice (home phone) services in regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas. ACCAN previously commented on how these trials should be designed, run and evaluated. This round of consultation sought comments on the draft Grant Guidelines, Agreement and Application Form.

ACCAN supports the Alternative Voice Services Trials. Our submission makes a number of recommendations to ensure no consumer is worse off by participating in the trials. We also provided feedback on how to make sure the trials are as useful as possible. ACCAN reiterated the need for trialled services to be assessed not just in terms of value for money, but also in terms of quality.

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Some of Telstra’s networks are exempt from Parts 7 and 8 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. You can read more about this here. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is seeking comments on Telstra’s request to extend its exemptions for its South Brisbane Velocity and other Velocity phone and internet networks. The current exemptions expire on 30 June 2020, so Telstra has asked the Minister of Communications, Cyber Security and the Arts to extend the exemptions further.

Consumers in the Velocity footprint have a difficult time getting affordable and good quality internet that is suitable to their needs. ACCAN’s submission acknowledged the necessity to grant Telstra’s request this time, otherwise current customers in the Velocity footprints may be left without a service after 30 June 2020. We argued that Telstra’s exemptions should be granted for 2 years at most. We also argued that Telstra should have a plan to sell the networks and should report on this regularly to the ACCC and the Department.

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ACCAN made a submission to the Mobile Black Spot Program (MBSP) Round 5A Discussion Paper.

Lack of telecommunications connectivity denies regional, rural and remote communities the socio-economic benefits that people in metropolitan areas take for granted. Yet mobile network providers are now at a point where there is minimal return on investment for them in rural, remote and regional locations and there is little incentive for them to build infrastructure in these areas.

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ACCAN has made a submission to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications consultation on options to support Australian stories on our screens. Australian content has cultural value for all Australians, including people with disability, and as such everyone should have access to Australian content.

In our submission, ACCAN explained that some accessibility features are readily included on Australian content, whereas others aren’t available (or aren’t consistently available). This is because there are no clear legislative requirements or protections to ensure access to Australian programming across all platforms.

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ACCAN has commented on the proposed update to the Federal Government’s telecommunications in new developments policy.

ACCAN agrees with the policy’s objectives to provide people moving into new developments with ready access to modern telecommunications, both voice and broadband, and to create a competitive market for the provision of such infrastructure. However, ACCAN identified the following areas for improvement in the proposed approach:

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Towards the end of 2019, ACCAN started thinking about what a fully accessible communications sector would look like. We wanted to develop a roadmap of shared goals to illustrate what is needed to ensure all people with disability in Australia have full and equal access to communications technologies and services.

In developing the roadmap, ACCAN sought feedback from a range of organisations supporting people with disability. We asked three key questions:

  1. What communications issues do people with disability currently experience?
  2. What communications issues might people with disability experience in the future?
  3. What approaches could help address these existing and anticipated communications issues?

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 The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) thanks the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) for investigating systemic issues affecting small businesses’ communications services.

“A reliable phone and internet service is fundamental for most modern small businesses,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin.

“Unfortunately, in the past few years we’ve seen the share of TIO complaints from small businesses continually increase. The TIO’s report helps to identify some of the complex issues that small businesses face when there is a fault with their phone or internet service.”

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