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This week
IN THE NEWS: >IN THE NEWS: Telstra pay $3 million for consumer protections breach, free internet for 21 NT communities, and anti-scam strategy unveiled<
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The ACMA has announced that Telstra has paid a $3 million penalty and is in the process of refunding over $21 million for charging consumers for inactive internet services over an 11 year period. This latest penalty is a consequence of Telstra’s history of incorrectly billing customers. It is the second time Telstra has failed to adhere to a clear Direction to Comply in recent years - they were directed to comply with legislated consumer protections in November 2020 after overcharging 10,000 customers to the tune of $2.4 million, and were found to still be in breach of the consumer protections code in April 2022. ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said the ACMA had ‘lost patience’ with Telstra after this series of significant billing errors. [ACMA]
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Multiple regional and remote communities in the Northern Territory will receive significantly improved phone and internet connectivity as part of the Digital Connectivity Project. The new services will be paired with community education efforts (in the form of training and a physical helpdesk) to narrow the digital divide and ensure individuals and businesses in remote communities can take advantage of the upgrades. [Mirage News]
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The government intends to introduce new mandatory industry codes to clarify the responsibilities of the private sector in combatting scam activity, ITNews reports. Feedback is currently being sought on the proposed measures which, alongside telecommunications, will also apply to banks and digital platforms providers. Under the proposed scheme, non-compliant businesses would face redress obligations and financial penalties. [ITNews]
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NBN has begun a new Wholesale Broadband Agreement with Retail Service Providers (RSPs), effective December 1st. NBN Co said that the agreement will bring “significant reductions in the wholesale prices of entry level and higher speed tiers.” Wholesale prices of 12/1Mbps and 25/5Mbps products have dropped by around $10 per month, while wholesale prices of 50/20Mbps offerings have jumped.
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The ACMA reports that 336 million scam texts have been blocked between July 2022 (with the Reducing Scam Calls and Scam SMS Industry Code) and September 2023. This represents 16 scam texts per Australian adult during the period. This is significant progress in the fight against scams, but as most mobile phone users know, there is much more to be done in regards blocking scam texts. [ACMA]
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'Keys to the Digital World', an excellent report from SACOSS (South Australian Council of Social Service), has been released today. It shines a light on the role libraries and community centres play in facilitating digital inclusion in regional South Australia. Regional libraries and community centres go over and above to help their community get online, but they need to be better funded so they can make sure no one is left behind by the online world. The full SACOSS report can be found via the link above. [SACOSS]
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The Australian Government is seeking feedback on the future of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) beyond 2024. ACCAN has created an explainer-style blog post to answer some of the questions you may have about this important consumer protection and outline our role in the review process. [ACCAN]
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Bingara, a small but important administrative town in the New England region of NSW, has had its connectivity restored after going without mobile services for six days. All Telstra 4G and 3G services were affected. Telstra identified a transmission issue as the cause of the outage. Landline and NBN services were unaffected. [Northern Daily Leader]
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The ACMA is warning consumers to watch out for scam parcel-delivery SMS, emails and calls in the lead up to Christmas. Many Australians have placed online orders during the Black Friday sales weekend or ahead of Christmas celebrations. If you get a text purporting to update you on progress of a delivery, take care before clicking any links. If in doubt, check the progress of parcels via official tracking apps or websites, and use the tracking identifier sent to you upon purchase. Be sure to report scams to Scamwatch. [ACMA]
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We were delighted to host the 2023 Sue Salthouse Memorial Lecture earlier this week. Thanks to the many of you who came along to hear Emma Bennison’s inspiring address. If you would like to re-watch the lecture, or were unable to make it to the live broadcast, visit the link above to watch the event in full. [ACCAN]
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If you are Deaf, or have a hearing impairment or speech impairment, you can contact us on 02 9288 4000 through your preferred National Relay Service call number or access point.
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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 information contained in or attached to this message is intended only for the people it is addressed to. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this information is unauthorised and prohibited. This information may be confidential or subject to legal privilege. If you receive this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the e-mail and any attachments. The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network does not warrant that the information in this e-mail or any attachments are free from any viruses, defects, errors, interception or interference.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network's representation of residential and other consumers' interests in relation to telecommunications issues is supported by the Commonwealth through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
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