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ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin, presented at the CommsDay Summit 2018 in Sydney on 9 April. This year's CommsDay Summit brought together telecoms industry leaders and politicians from across the country to discuss topics including the NBN, 5G, fixed and wireless technologies and the market.
The speakers included Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield, Telstra CEO, Andy Penn, as well as representatives from NBN, Huawei, Vodafone, ACMA and other telecommunications providers.
Teresa's presentation focused on four of ACCAN's key priorities for consumers in 2018:
• NBN & Consumers
• Consumer Protection
• Rural & Regional Issues
• Latest Affordability Stats
Read more: ACCAN presentation at Commsday 2018
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In 2018, technology and digital services are all around us. Consumers use the internet and telecommunications services to stay connected, go shopping, link into education and job opportunities and access government services.
While we increasingly live our lives online, it’s vital that we don’t leave anyone behind. What gaps will appear in the connected world? Who will and won’t be able to access services due to limitations on connectivity? What can we do to ensure that people are not only connected but they also have the confidence to use new technologies to their benefit?
We will explore these questions and more at the 2018 ACCANect Conference which has the theme: ‘Confidence in the Connected World.’
Read more: Confidence in the connected world: ACCANect 2018
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ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin, discussed a range of telecommunications consumer issues in a speech today at the CommsDay Sydney Summit. In particular, Ms Corbin outlined issues related to the ACCC inquiry into the Wholesale Service Standard and the consumer perspective on the ACMA new rules currently out for consultation.
Ms Corbin said “Currently, NBN’s wholesale service standard levels are set out in commercial agreements negotiated by NBN co with retail service providers (NBN’s Wholesale Broadband Agreement) but do not always lead to good outcomes for customers when it comes to connection times, fault repairs, appointment keeping and network reliability’.
The NBN environment is quite complex with a wholesaler, retail service provider and sometimes an aggregator as well involved in providing services to consumers. The ACCC inquiry on “whether NBN wholesale service standard levels are appropriate is strongly supported by consumer groups who believe that regulation is necessary to improve customer experiences.
Read more: ACCAN CEO highlights consumer issues at CommsDay Summit
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The summary below outlines ACCAN's activities from 1 December – 28 February 2018.
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The summary below outlines ACCAN's activities from 1 September – 30 November 2017.
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The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) released its first results from its Measuring Broadband Australia speed monitoring program and the results are generally positive, with NBN broadband services from iiNet, Optus, Telstra and TPG delivering between 80 per cent and just over 90 per cent of maximum plan speeds during peak times (7-11pm). On download speeds, out of the four, TPG beat the other three with 90.7 per cent, followed by iiNet with 88.6 per cent, then Telstra with 88.1 per cent, and Optus with 90.7 per cent. The service providers are also achieving positive upload speeds.
Read more: ACCC’s first NBN speed test results
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ACCAN welcomes the release of the first round of results from the ACCC’s Measuring Broadband Australia speed monitoring program, and its generally positive findings. ‘We’ve long been calling for the independent monitoring of broadband speeds so consumers know what they’re likely to be getting when they buy a service. We’re strongly supportive of the ACCC’s work in this area’ ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin said today.
‘Complaints about broadband speeds are at a record high. There is an obvious need for clear and accurate consumer information on what to expect from broadband services’ said ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin. ‘The ACCC’s results make broadband speeds more transparent. This is important, because it helps consumers understand how services are actually performing, and gives them the tools they need to choose services best suited to their needs’.
The latest report shows that NBN fixed broadband plans from iiNet, Optus, TPG, and Telstra are typically delivering download speeds of around 80 to just over 90 per cent of the advertised maximum plan speed at the busiest time of the day (7-11pm), and performing consistently throughout the day. They are also achieving positive uploads speeds.
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Telstra admitted that over 100,000 of its customers were misled over third party charges by its Premium Billing service.
Yesterday, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched proceedings against the telco giant, alleging that Telstra made false or misleading representations to consumers regarding its third party billing services.
Read more: Telstra misled its customers over third party charges
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ACCAN welcomes the ACCC’s announcement today that it has commenced proceedings against Telstra for misleading its customers about third party billing services.
ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin said that consumers have been extremely frustrated by these unexpected charges on their telco bills and by the difficulties they experience in resolving them. An ACCAN survey last year found 12% of mobile customers had experienced unexpected third party charges on their mobile phone bills in the preceding 6 months.
‘We’ve been calling for stronger consumer protections in this area for some time, including that all third party charging become opt-in, instead of the current opt-out arrangement’, said Ms Corbin. ‘Many people don’t realise that their mobile phone account can effectively be used like a credit card to purchase third party content, like games credits’.
The ACCC has found that Telstra has earned about $61.7m from commissions on third party premium direct billing.
Read more: ACCAN welcomes ACCC action over Premium Billing charges
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ACCAN submitted to the Treasury’s consultation on the final Open Banking Report and the proposed regulatory framework for the national Consumer Data Right, proposed by the Productivity Commission in its Data Availability and Use inquiry. The Consumer Data Right will oblige organisations to provide consumers with the data that is held about them in a machine-readable format.
As part of its response to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry, the Government announced that the Treasurer would lead the development of the Consumer Data Right, which will be developed first in the banking sector, and then in the energy and telecommunications sectors in late 2018.
ACCAN has an interest in the current consultation as the development of the CDR in banking and its rollout will influence the development and establishment of a right to consumer data more broadly, including in the telecommunications sector.
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Download: 
ACCAN Magazine Issue 27 Autumn 20184.5 MB (Note: reading order not accessible)
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ACCAN Magazine Issue 27 Autumn 2018 - accessible version44.2 KB
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Today ACCAN is celebrating World Consumer Rights Day. The theme this year is ‘Making digital marketplaces fairer’ and Consumers International is calling for access to fair and secure internet for all, action against scams and fraud, and better consumer protection online. As a member of Consumers International, ACCAN supports this initiative.
“Consumers need to be wary of scams and online fraud which can come in different shapes and sizes,” ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin said. “We urge consumers to sign up to Australian Government scam alerts to stay on top of these issues and report scams when they encounter them.”
Consumers can stay informed about scams by following Scamwatch and Stay Smart Online. They can learn about cybercrime from the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN). Scams can be reported on the Scamwatch website and cybercrime can be reported on the ACORN website. ACCAN also has a tip sheet to help consumers avoid phone and internet scams.