ACCAN made a submission in response to the ACCC’s proposed enhancements to the Broadband Speeds Claims – Industry Guidance. ACCAN submitted that to avoid misleading the consumer telco retailers should:
- Use the lowest end of any speed ranges provided by a wholesale product in off-peak speed marketing information, and RSPs should inform consumers if the off-peak speed changes;
- Not advertise ‘burst speeds’ – off peak high speeds that are only occasionally available for short periods – as off-peak speeds;
- Be transparent about the suitability and quality of their plans and products for online gaming, taking into account periods when the broadband network has high traffic demand;
- Provide faster connection speeds in plans for online gaming to deliver a good customer experience, particularly in current circumstances where COVID-19 work from home and home schooling restrictions are increasing the strain on the broadband network;
- Disclose the geographical limitations of broadband services with speeds higher than 100Mbps;
- Disclose to consumers the need for additional equipment to achieve full speeds of an advertised plan;
- Adopt standard prescriptive labelling that will provide clarity, inform consumer choice and increase consumer protection; and
- Clearly indicate where wholesale products have different download and upload speeds, especially as consumers are more dependent on upload speeds when working from home under COVID-19 restriction.
Download: ACCAN submission to ACCC Broadband speed guidance84.81 KB
Download: ACCAN submission to ACCC Broadband speed guidance788.03 KB