ACCAN

Dec 17

The Australian Communications and Media Authority issued a revised proposal that has seen a steep increase on its previous proposal to set existing spectrum licence fees as low as $5 billion to better reflect market value of up to $7.3 billion and far higher than the industry requests for fees as lo...Read more

The Australian Communications and Media Authority issued a revised proposal that has seen a steep increase on its previous proposal to set existing spectrum licence fees as low as $5 billion to better reflect market value of up to $7.3 billion and far higher than the industry requests for fees as low as $2.5b. ACCAN welcomes the proposal to appropriately set fees based on a fair market valuation but notes that the shift away from competitive auctions means that it has never been more important to put in place strong licence conditions to ensure maximum consumer benefit. Consumers need clear, enforceable obligations to improve coverage, service quality and pricing, particularly in underserved communities. Read our media release via the link.

Dec 15

During the Senate Inquiry into Triple Zero, ACCAN DCEO Dr Gareth Downing highlighted that the long-term solution to outage risks is a complete redesign of the system, supported by significant new investment.

Dec 10

Telecommunications services are essential to daily life, yet Australia’s laws do not treat them that way, ACCAN told the Senate Environment and Communications Committee yesterday. ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett and Deputy CEO Dr Gareth Downing warned Senators that, despite the widespread acknowledgement f...Read more

Telecommunications services are essential to daily life, yet Australia’s laws do not treat them that way, ACCAN told the Senate Environment and Communications Committee yesterday. ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett and Deputy CEO Dr Gareth Downing warned Senators that, despite the widespread acknowledgement from government, industry and the media that communications services are “essential”, there is no legal basis for this description. “We have both an opportunity and a responsibility to fix this. Reform is needed to bring telecommunications regulation into line with other essential services such as water and energy, where minimum service standards are clearly defined.” Read the media release via the link.

Dec 4

The Fair Call Coalition, an alliance of 23 consumer organisations, has today written to the ACMA Chair urging them to reject industry’s re-drafted Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code. The updated Code, put forward by the Australian Telecommunications Alliance (ATA), still fails to d...Read more

The Fair Call Coalition, an alliance of 23 consumer organisations, has today written to the ACMA Chair urging them to reject industry’s re-drafted Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code. The updated Code, put forward by the Australian Telecommunications Alliance (ATA), still fails to deliver the basic protections consumers need to stay connected and avoid harm. It offers no meaningful pathways for remedies when things go wrong, and does not address unsafe sales practices, weak credit assessments, inappropriate disconnections or service limitations, or misleading mobile coverage information. Click the link to read the Fair Call Coalition’s letter to the ACMA Chair outlining the industry standards that must be strengthened. The Fair Call Coalition: Consumer Action Law Centre Financial Counselling Australia Economic Abuse Reference Group WEstjustice CHOICE Financial Rights Legal Centre Mob Strong Debt Help Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network Consumers’ Federation of Australia South Australian Council of Social Service Care ACT Anglicare NT Bush Money Mob, WA MoneyMob Talkabout, NT Hume Riverina Community Legal Service Consumer Credit Legal Service, WA Consumer Policy Research Centre Council on the Ageing (COTA) Australia Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service Redfern Legal Centre South-East Community Links Australian Council of Social Service Centre for Women’s Economic Safety

Dec 3

ACCAN recently made a submission to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee’s Inquiry into Triple-Zero service outages. Access to mobile telecommunications is critical for daily life in Australia, and that includes being able to reliably reach Triple-Zero in an emergency. Mob...Read more

ACCAN recently made a submission to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee’s Inquiry into Triple-Zero service outages. Access to mobile telecommunications is critical for daily life in Australia, and that includes being able to reliably reach Triple-Zero in an emergency. Mobile networks delivering these services must be treated and regulated as essential services. Our submission aims to improve the reliability, inclusivity and availability of the mobile telecommunications services which underpin the delivery Triple-Zero call services. Read our full list of recommendations: https://www.accan.org.au/accan-submission/inquiry-into-triple-zero-service-outages