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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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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”.
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.).
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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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ACCAN recently provided feedback to the Digital Transformation Agency on the draft documents for the Trusted Digital Identity Framework.
The documents set out the rules (policies, standards, and requirements) for all organisations and agencies that want to take part in the Government’s digital identity project. When the project is complete, consumers will be able to create a single online identity called ‘Govpass’ to login into all services provided by the participating agencies and organisations.
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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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ACCAN is disappointed that complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) have increased by a massive 41.1 per cent during 2016-17. This rise in complaints is reflective of the experiences we are hearing from consumers and indicates there are systemic issues with customer service in the industry. Customer service was the top complaint issue overall. The report shows that all services and providers saw an increase in complaints indicating a genuine need to update consumer protections.
“We are very concerned about the significant, across the board, increase in complaints for landline, mobile and internet services,” said ACCAN Deputy CEO, Narelle Clark. “This reverses the previous downward trend in complaint levels. We are therefore calling on all providers to lift their game and act to immediately improve customer service and the consumer experience.”
Read more: TIO complaints reveal need for updated safeguards
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Consumers are increasingly buying Internet-connected appliances for their homes. Often referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT), the range of internet-connected products already available includes not only the obvious things like Smart TVs, gaming consoles, security and safety cameras, but smart light bulbs, sewing machines and even dishwashers.
Telstra says the average home already has 11 or 12 connected devices and predicts that by 2020 a typical home will have about 30.
As well as being useful by enabling us to remotely manage our home environments, many of these devices also collect a lot of data. Conceivably, this data collection can pose huge risks to consumers’ privacy and security.
Read more: How safe are IoT devices?
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ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin, discussed a range of telecommunications consumer issues in a speech today at the CommsDay Melbourne Congress. In particular, Ms Corbin outlined issues related to nbn’s Special Access Undertaking (SAU) and consumer issues relating to the NBN rollout.
The SAU is a document that establishes the regulatory regime of the National Broadband Network for the next 23 years. ACCAN believes some of the charges proposed in the SAU are unfair for consumers.
“The proposed charge of $150 for consumers who are unable to self-install, for missed appointments or late cancellation of appointments may negatively impact on some vulnerable consumers,” said Ms Corbin. “We are also concerned about the removal of requirements to make rollout information available to the public. Access to this information is useful to many organisations and consumers.”
Read more: ACCAN CEO highlights consumer issues at CommsDay Congress
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Have you noticed how more and more everyday items are now connected to the internet?
While we used to have ordinary watches that told us the time and the date, we now have smartwatches that track our fitness, alert us about emails and more.
We are told that we can expect many things in our homes will be connected, our cars will be connected and we will see even more connected ‘wearable’ devices in the future. These new devices and services raise many questions and concerns for consumers.
Read more: Your place in the connected world
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The 2017 Australian Digital Inclusion Index showed that overall digital inclusion is growing in Australia.
Since 2014, when data was first collected for the Index, Australia’s overall digital inclusion score has improved by 3.8 points, from 52.7 to 56.5.
The Index also found that gaps between digitally included and excluded Australians are “substantial and widening.”
Read more: Helping people Leep into the digital world
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Digital technology has transformed consumer experiences around the world. Consumers can buy products, access information, and communicate with people anywhere in the world with just the touch of a button. We are told that soon everything will be connected so the theme of this year’s ACCANect is ‘Your place in the connected world’.
This “always on”, always connected world raises some big questions for consumers. Is our personal information safe online? Do we know what data is being collected about us and are we happy with how it is being used or shared? How do new services make decisions about us and are they fair? How can we make sure everyone can access an open internet, as well as benefit from the convenience, choice and lower prices?
ACCANect was an opportunity for consumers, providers and government representatives to get up to speed on what’s available now, what’s over the horizon and what the benefits and challenges are going forward.
As well as debate and discussion, ACCANect will provided practical tools for those attending to navigate the connected world. We looked at the latest research as well as successful initiatives both here and overseas to promote and improve connectivity.
Transcripts and presentations will be put into the sessions below when available.
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The ACCAN Annual General Meeting was held in Sydney on Thursday, 21 September, 2017. At the meeting the following three candidates were elected to the Board:
- Deirdre O’Donnell
- Victoria Rubensohn
- Holly Raiche
Congratulations to returning director, Victoria, and a warm welcome back to Holly who re-joins the ACCAN Board after a short break. We also extend a warm welcome to Deidre who joins the ACCAN Board for the first time.
These three new Board members join the six continuing Directors below whose terms conclude at the 2018 and 2019 ACCAN AGM:
Read more: Results of ACCAN Board Election
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