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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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Telecommunication services have always been essential for public health and safety, but today they are a necessity for participation in civic society and transacting with government, for business operations, productivity and growth. ACCAN’s Pre-Budget Submission 2018-19 discusses market gaps and gives recommendations on telecommunications initiatives that will benefit consumers including:
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The process for migrating to the NBN is set out in a document called the Migration Plan. The Migration Plan needs to be tailored with each new technology that nbn uses in its network. In this consultation, Telstra has proposed a number of changes to accommodate the Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) technology. nbn plans to use FTTC to connect about one million Australian premises from 2018.
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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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The Department of Communications and the Arts recently commenced a review of Australia’s management of the .au domain by the Australian Domain Authority (auDA). ACCAN submitted its comments on the management framework of auDA and ways to ensure the .au domain continues to serve the needs of the online Australian community.
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Communications Alliance, the communications industry peak body, is proposing to deregister and repeal the Call Charging and Billing Accuracy Code (C518). This Code sets out requirements for providers to test the accuracy of their call charging and billing for the standard telephone service (STS).
ACCAN believes the Code contains important detailed provisions to support accurate billing, such as requiring providers to develop and implement a test plan; to use performance indicators for accuracy testing; and compliance reporting requirements. In our submission, we acknowledge that the Code may have declining applicability, but argue that its principles are still relevant. It is important that consumers have confidence that their billing is correct, and reflects actual usage.
Complaints data from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) illustrates that billing for communications services is a significant consumer issue, with 41.9% of the 2016-17 financial year complaints relating to billing and payments.
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ACCAN and Internet Australia have jointly submitted to industry peak body Communications Alliance’s consultation on the deregistration and repeal of the End to End Network Performance for the Standard Telephone Service (STS) Code.
The Code sets out technical rules for the performance of standard voice services. These rules mean that voice services operate within acceptable standardised levels of echo, delay and loudness, supporting positive consumer experience. Our submission argues that consumers both need and deserve the high quality of voice telephony supported by the Code.
Communications Alliance considers that C519 no longer holds currency and practical value due to frequently evolving telecommunications technology and the declining use of the STS, and the current scope of the Code.
Read more: End to End Network Performance for the Standard Telephone Service Code (C519)
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The ACCC is conducting a Communications Sector Market Study, and has consulted on its draft report following its consultation last year on an Issues Paper. The ACCC’s draft report made a number of recommendations and proposed actions to improve telecommunications market and services for consumers over the next 5 years, which adopted many of the suggestions flagged in our Issues Paper submission.
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New rules that will force telcos to significantly improve the consumer experience in moving to the NBN have been welcomed as an early Christmas present for consumers. ACCAN has been calling for some time for these issues to be addressed and we are very pleased with the Minister for Communications’ and the ACMA’s announcements. This is a huge win for consumers.
“The ACMA’s analysis of issues relating to NBN migration confirms what we already know, and highlights some very concerning complaint trends,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. “The findings reflect the consumer experiences ACCAN has been hearing about as customers switch over to the NBN.”
The ACMA’s report shows that there needs to be better protection to ensure that consumers have access to a working service, that they are given accurate and consistent information and that there is an improvement in complaints handling to ensure quicker resolution of faults and connection problems. Furthermore, the implementation of these new standards will ensure that if the nbn switchover does not work the previous service will be reconnected so no-one is left without these essential services. These are issues which ACCAN has been raising with the industry, regulators and government. These issues are summarised in our Migration Statement.
Read more: New telco rules an early Christmas present for consumers
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ACCAN has welcomed the Government’s response to the Productivity Commission report into the existing Universal Service Obligation (USO).
We are pleased that the Government’s response acknowledges that existing arrangements are out of date and in need of reform. We welcome the Government’s commitment to provide universal access to voice and broadband services through a new Universal Service Guarantee (USG) once the NBN rollout is complete.
“All consumers need access to reliable and affordable voice and internet services,” said ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin. “Guarantees underpinning access to vital voice and internet services are fundamentally important for areas where the market is not delivering adequately.”
“We look forward to working with the government on this in 2018 and beyond.”
ACCAN will work to ensure the new USG addresses the need for assurances that any new service delivery arrangements will take account of:
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In consultation with its members and other consumer groups, ACCAN responded to the ACMA’s consultation on the potential for industry self-regulation of the IPND, DNCR, and spam.
ACCAN believes it is in the consumer interest that functions of the IPND, DNCR, and commercial electronic messages are not referred to industry for regulation.
Passing regulatory functions currently undertaken by government to industry could have detrimental privacy and cost implications. It also has the potential to impact on complaints handling, enforcement and compliance, and the transparency over the ways in which these activities are undertaken.
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