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This week
IN THE NEWS: ACCAN Grants open soon, new index ranks NSW suburbs by connectivity, landmark USO review draws closer
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The 2024 round of ACCAN’s Independent Grants Program will open on 30 January and close at the end of February. The 2024 Guidelines and Priority Themes are now available to read on ACCAN’s Grants page. If you are thinking of applying, we encourage you to contact us in advance. The Grants Team is available to provide feedback on your project idea and answer any questions you have. Please contact us at grants@accan.org.au, 02 9288 4000, or via the NRS. [ACCAN]
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The NSW Government has launched a state-wide Digital Connectivity Index, which measures the quality of connectivity on a suburb-by-suburb level based upon three key elements: access, affordability, and demographics. The Index will assist policy makers and communities in making informed decisions about connectivity infrastructure and digital inclusion. NSW residents can find how their suburb scores via the link above. [NSW Government]
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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. As part of ACCAN’s commitment to undertake in-depth stakeholder engagement on the future of the USO, we will be seeking the input of our member organisations and key stakeholders via a virtual roundtable to be held 14 February 2024 – 2pm-3:30pm AEDT. Please get in touch if you would like to participate. [ACCAN]
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Telecommunications company Medion, which sells mobile products as Aldi Mobile, has paid a $250,000 fine to the ACMA over customer identification compliance failures. Nine customers had their SIM cards inappropriately swapped or ported, resulting in significant financial loss, and more than 1600 SIM-swap requests were improperly verified. [ABC]
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In December, ACCAN submitted to Department of Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts' Discussion Paper on a registration or licensing scheme for the telecommunications sector. We wrote to strongly support such a registrations or licensing scheme (RoLS), and argued that it should be established alongside the strengthening of enforcement arrangements, expanding the direct regulation of telecommunications consumer protections and increasing of penalties to deter CSP non-compliance. The full submission can be read on our website [ACCAN]
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A cohort of consumer advocates and community organisations have levelled criticism against the proposed framework and review package for the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code. The draft changes, they argue, fail to offer increased protections for consumers, particularly those facing domestic and family violence, and don't go far enough to prevent mis-selling to vulnerable customers. [Consumer Action Law Centre]
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The NBN Co. executive general manager for technology transformation has flagged AI use cases in regular NBN operations, particularly in extracting customer preferences from large datasets and automated fault reporting. [IT News]
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A refreshed online safety framework - the Consolidated Industry Codes of Practice for the Online Industry – has begun to come into force and will be fully implemented by March this year. The codes are geared to control child sexual exploitation, pro-terror, violent and drug-related content and establish safer online experiences. [Security Brief]
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Brand Finance Australia has ranked Telstra as the nation’s second most valuable brand. Telstra also listed as the fourth strongest brand in the country. Brand value is measured by the economic benefit gained if a brand was licensed in the open market, while brand strength measures marketing investment and business performance metrics. [Australian Marketing Institute]
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This helpful resource from the ACMA may assist yourself or someone you know in paying a telco bill while facing financial hardship. There is much support available to consumers, and telcos must take certain steps to support someone struggling to meet payments. [ACMA]
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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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