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The Regional, Rural, and Remote Communications Coalition (RRRCC) is a collective of 21 organisations dedicated to improving connectivity in the bush. Through awareness campaigns and direct advocacy, the RRRCC amplifies the voices of communities in regional, rural, and remote Australia.
Read more: Regional, Rural and Remote Communications Coalition
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A group of like-minded advocacy groups have come together to end the data drought by forming the Regional, Rural and Remote Communications Coalition to champion better communications services for consumers and small businesses living in rural, remote or regional areas.
The Coalition includes the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), the Country Women’s Association of NSW, the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association and AgForce Queensland.
“The Coalition was formed to highlight the collective concerns of families, businesses and communities in rural and regional Australia about the lack of equitable access to reliable and quality telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote Australia,” ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin said.
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ACCAN and Infoxchange have come together to produce a report focusing on the more than 427,000 dwellings (about 5 per cent of housing stock) in Australia which fall into the category of social housing – housing provided by the government and community sectors to accommodate people in the lowest income brackets. Residents of social housing are more likely to fall on the wrong side of the digital divide, and face a range of barriers in getting connected. These barriers can be practical, such as getting permissions to install connections in old apartment blocks, budgetary, where the cost to sign up may be prohibitive, or may be related to digital literacy.
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There are a number of fixed networks delivering superfast broadband services (capable of delivering greater than 25Mbps download speeds). In October the ACCC consulted about the pricing and terms and conditions that should apply to some of these networks, such as Opticomm, OPENetworks, LBN Co, Telstra South Brisbane and TPGs FTTB networks. The price and terms for NBN are set out under different documents, called the Special Access Undertaking.
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In September the ACCC commenced a broad study into the telecommunications market and the likely developments over the next 5 years. It asked a range of questions about the market to understand if there are any potential issues that will negatively affect consumers. This included questions such as what information would be beneficial to consumers in choosing products, whether competition is working in the voice and broadband service market and whether there are issues with emerging technologies and services.
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The summary below outlines ACCAN's activities from 1 June, 2016 to 31 August, 2016.
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The Australian mobile network providers have all announced the switch off of their 2G networks:
- Optus’ 2G network will switch off from 3 April, 2017
- Vodafone’s 2G network will switch off on 30 September, 2017
- Telstra’s 2G network was switched off on 1 December, 2016
This article has information for consumers using 2G services on the Optus and Vodafone networks.
Read more: 2G network switch offs – what you need to know
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A major report into telecommunications affordability today launched jointly by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and the South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) highlights concerns about low-income consumers in staying connected to telecommunications services.
The report, Connectivity Costs: Telecommunications Affordability for Low-Income Australians, which was based on a survey of over 500 Centrelink recipients and low-income Health Care Card holders, as well as a series of focus groups, found that:
- 66 per cent of respondents rated telecommunications among the five most important factors in their household budget; but
- 62 per cent reported difficulty paying, having to cut back or that they had stopped using one or more telecommunications services for financial reasons in the last 12 months.
Read more: Telecommunications affordability report shows those on low incomes missing out
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In 2016, the Mobile Premium Services (MPS) Code is being reviewed. Mobile Premium Services (MPS) are information and entertainment services that deliver various forms of content to your mobile phone, and are charged to your phone account. The MPS Code aims to safeguard consumers from an industry which has a history of poor practice.
Market changes in the last year mean that consumers are able to buy more products in new ways, and charge them to their phone bill. As a result, ACCAN considers that the Code should be updated so that it adequately protects consumers.
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In May 2015, ACCAN commissioned Galaxy Research to complete a survey of consumers regarding telco and ISP complaints. The survey found that 46 per cent of telco consumers reported having a problem with their phone or internet provider in the last year, representing more than 8.5 million Australians.
According to the survey, around one third of respondents (38 per cent) who had a problem with their phone or internet service, complained to their provider and were dissatisfied with the response from the telco. However, only nine per cent of these consumers escalated their complaint to the TIO suggesting that phone and internet providers have not improved the proportion of complaints that are resolved.
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Competition law is critical so that companies can offer high quality of service at the lowest possible price. There are currently two sets of laws that cover competition in the telecommunications industry – one set is general, and the other telco industry specific. The Department of Communications and the Arts is looking at whether the industry specific rules are needed following the adoption of reforms proposed by the Harper Review in 2014.
ACCAN supports removing any overlap as long as this does not cause any detriment to consumers.
Read more: Telecommunications anti-competitive conduct laws inquiry
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In a speech at the CommsDay Melbourne Congress 2016, ACCAN CEO, Teresa Corbin, outlined eight major priority areas for ACCAN in 2016-17. The consumer centred priorities relate to ACCAN’s core focus area of achieving affordable, available and accessible communications products and services for all Australians.
As an organisation, ACCAN represents all residential consumers and small businesses, including not-for-profit organisations. Each policy priority aims to address a segment of the market that is not working for a group or groups within Australia.