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This week
IN THE NEWS: Retail registration scheme a must for Aussie Telcos, Australia and UK join forces to fight unwanted calls and messages and more
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The Australian Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is calling for the development of a retail registration scheme for telco providers which will give the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) greater visibility over the industry. ACCAN wants to see the creation of an up-to-date register of providers, to improve the visibility of market participants. Creation of a register will benefit consumers, regulators and services providing by providing a trusted and central source of information that consumers can use to contact their telco. [ACCAN media release]
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Australia and the United Kingdom will work together more closely to combat unsolicited calls and texts and phone scams under a new agreement. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in London this week that will see them share intelligence, assist each other in appropriate investigations and coordinate enforcement against cross-border entities. [ACMA media release]
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The ACCC will examine the expanding ecosystems of digital platform service providers in Australia as part of its’ five-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry. Large digital platform service providers, like Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft, continue to invest heavily across different sectors and technologies, creating a web of interconnected products and services. [ACCC media release]
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The findings of an investigation by professional services firm Deloitte into the Optus data breach, which came to light in September last year, will be known by late May. The probe was announced by Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin in October. Asked about the investigation, an Optus spokesperson said: "we’re expecting the findings of the investigation to be available in late May". [iTWire]
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Telstra customers can now make free calls and texts to loved ones in Vanuatu, after the country was battered by two cyclones and earthquakes. All calls to Vanuatu from Telstra home phones, post-paid and pre-paid mobiles are currently free and will be until 11:59pm AEDT on Sunday March 19, 2023, Telstra said. [Yahoo news]
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Scams continue to wreak tremendous personal and financial damage on consumers and the Australian economy, warned ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb when unveiling the ACCC’S annual compliance and enforcement priorities for 2023-24. “Our Scamwatch service will continue to support government agencies and industry participants in the disruption of scams,” Cass-Gottlieb said. [iTWire]
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The ACMA has launched a consumer education campaign to raise awareness of assistance available to customers having difficulty paying their telco bills. The campaign’s theme is ‘Tell your telco – they can help’. Telecommunications is an essential service. Being connected and having access to a reliable and affordable phone and internet service has become necessary for many people to work and connect to health, education, government and financial services. [ACMA news article]
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The Australian Government has released the results of two concurrent surveys: the 2022 Media Content Consumption Survey, and a new Television Consumer Survey, which explores the attitudes, expectations and behaviours of Australians towards accessing screen content via TVs and connected TV devices. Both surveys were conducted by the Social Research Centre in September 2022 and will help to inform the Government’s media reform agenda, including consideration of the final design for a prominence framework for connected TV devices. [Minister Rowland media release]
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For town and city dwellers, it's difficult to comprehend the struggles of rural areas when it comes to accessing the internet. Broadband and cellular internet can range from abysmal to non-existent, making satellite internet a vital resource for those who need to stay connected and even work remotely. [ZDNET]
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The ACCC's latest NBN Wholesale Market Indicators Report reveals that the top three providers – Telstra, TPG and Optus – together lost 95,000 services during the December 2022 quarter, reducing their respective shares to 42.4 percent, 22.4 percent and 13.1 percent. At the same time, Vocus and the other smaller providers gained approximately 86,000 services. The total number of NBN services fell during the quarter, the first time this has happened. [iTWire]
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Tel: (02) 9288 4000
Email: media@accan.org.au
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Although we take care to direct subscribers to sites with accurate and reliable content, we advise that ACCAN is not responsible for the content within external sites and has no control over the views, services or information contained therein. Information contained on external sites may not necessarily reflect ACCAN's policy, standards or beliefs.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network's representation of residential and other consumers' interests in relation to telecommunications issues is made possible by funding provided by the Commonwealth of Australia under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. This funding is recovered from charges on telecommunications carriers.
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