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This week
IN THE NEWS: TIO and ACMA release complaints data, Optus cyberattack report awaits court decision, mobile services may be treated like water & energy
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The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has this week released it’s 2022-23 annual report. It contains some good news for industry – the TIO received 66,388 complaints during the period, a reduction of 16.5% on previous year figures. This year, the TIO has an interactive dashboard on the web version of their report. You can navigate through the data via the link above. [TIO]
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Meanwhile, the ACMA has published their Telco Complaints Report 2022-23. This report sheds light on customer complaints that have not been escalated to the ombudsman, and instead remain at the consumer–telco level. The ACMA reports that over 1 million complaints were lodged by consumers to their service providers, an increase of 2.3% on previous year figures. ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said that the eight days some telcos take to resolve complaints is “not good enough”. [ACMA]
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ACCAN has issued a media release in response to the TIO and ACMA reports. While a decline in complaints to the TIO is a welcome trend, mobile service complaints now account for 48% of all complaints lodged with the Ombudsman, and are proportionally at their highest level in over six years. Further, complaints relating to financial hardship are increasing. Overall complaint numbers remain far too high, and we consider that there remains much work to be done. [ACCAN]
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The AFR reports that litigants in the class action proceedings against Optus, Slater & Gordon, are awaiting the decision of a Federal Court judge about whether Optus must publicly release a report authored by consultancy Deloitte that investigated the causes of, and response to, the 2022 cyberattack that affected millions of Australians. The telco is thus far refusing to release the report, claiming ’legal professional privilege’, despite initially commissioning the report with the intention of assisting other private and public sector organisations who hold sensitive data and rebuilding trust with customers. [LinkedIn News]
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The federal government has opened consultation on draft planning rules to include consideration of mobile coverage in new housing developments. The proposed change to the Telecommunications in New Developments (TIND) policy would bring telecommunications in alignment with other essential services such as water and energy. Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said that “our current planning policies don’t reflect the reality that reliable mobile service is just as important as electricity and running water.” ACCAN agrees with the minister, and looks forward to contributing to the TIND consultation process. [ITNews]
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A notable finding of the TIO annual report was that Optus, partially as a result of the data breach suffered in 2022, saw the number of complaints levied against it increase by nearly 30%. Due to ongoing regulator investigations, the TIO could not adjudicate on whether Optus breached the privacy of customers, but reported that Optus worked constructively with the ombudsman to resolve customer complaints. [The Mandarin]
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Nokia has opened a 6G research lab at it’s global R&D facility in Bangalore, India, ITWire reports. The Indian government has incentivised Nokia to base their 6G development within the country as part of efforts to see Indian telcos (and India generally) lead the world in the standardisation, development and implementation of future technologies. Analysts anticipate a commercial 6G rollout sometime after 2030. [ITWire]
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A Microsoft Digital Defence report has found Australia was the equal-fifth most targeted nation when assessing cyber-attacks and cybercrime. The report covered the period July ’22 – June ’23, and noted that ‘soft targets’, including think-tanks, universities and NGOs remained key targets for nefarious actors in the APAC region. [ITWire]
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Tech giant Amazon has launched the first prototype low earth orbit satellites (LEOSAT) for their Kuiper internet network. Amazon has invested tens of billions into the project as they aim to compete with the already established Starlink in the LEOSAT broadband market. Analysts anticipate a commercial offering will be available sometime during or after 2025. [Reuters]
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Jennifer Parry, Project Assistant for ACCAN's Accessible Telecoms service, was recently interviewed on Vision Australia Radio about her role at ACCAN and experience competing for Australia in blind cricket at the IBSA Games 2023. She did a fantastic job! Take a listen at the link above. [Vision Australia Radio]
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