Communications Archives - Page 15 of 40 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

20 April , 2020

NBN Co creates $150 million COVID-19 relief and assistance package

NBN Co announced on Friday it will establish a $150 million financial relief and assistance fund to help internet providers to support their residential and small and medium business customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The relief fund, created following a short industry consultation led by NBN Co, is aimed at helping internet providers connect…

6 April , 2020

Telco companies are failing people in financial hardship

Consumer Action Law Centre has released the following statement in response to a report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on fiancial hardhip in the telco industry. A report released this week by ACMA shows that telco providers are not adequately identifying and supporting customers experiencing financial hardship. The ACMA reports shows that…

2 April , 2020

Telco financial hardship policies critical during COVID-19

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is reminding consumers that there are options available if they are experiencing financial distress and struggling to pay their telco bills. ACMA Chair Nerida O’Loughlin said that telcos have financial hardship programs available to support Australian consumers facing difficulties. “Telecommunication services are playing a critical role in keeping Australians connected…

27 March , 2020

Government must act to address broadband affordability as unemployment predicted to rise: ACCAN

The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) has urged the Federal Government to prioritise a specific stimulus strategy for telecommunications services to keep Australians connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing social distancing and self-isolation efforts have resulted in millions of Australians increasingly relying on their home broadband service. As Australia’s peak body representing telecommunications consumers,…

27 February , 2020

Australia’s love affair with streaming continues to thrive

Australia’s love affair with streaming continues to thrive with a new report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) showing 71 per cent of Australians with a TV set in the home used at least one paid video streaming service in 2019. One in 10 Australians had four or more subscription services in the…

25 February , 2020

Who’s looking at your dating app data?

Online dating can be a bit of a minefield, but it’s not just bad dates that you need to be worried about. Are you aware your dating app data is reaching more than potential matches? Find out more from CSIRO here. Consumers Federation of Australia (CFA) is engaging with the challenges of data privacy by supporting…

29 January , 2020

Who is protecting your information on the internet?

The recent ABC article titled How safe are GPS trackers for children – and what should I know before buying one? raises concerns about the ethics of technological surveillance and asks, ‘are we being sucked in by their convenience?’ When we digitise information or upload it to the internet, we run the risk of having that information…

20 December , 2019

ACMA reveals top 5 most reported phone scams for 2019

The Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) has today released a list of the top five phone scams most commonly reported to the agency in a bid to raise people’s awareness of scams during the Christmas period. NBN impersonations were revealed as by far the most reported scam for 2019, followed by scammers pretending to…

19 December , 2019

New consumer protections to reduce mobile roaming bill shock

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has enhanced rules for telcos in order to better protect people against the ‘bill shock’ that can come from high international mobile roaming charges. Under current rules, telcos must send notifications about international mobile roaming charges to devices that can receive SMS messages – mostly mobile phones. This…

19 December , 2019

Telco reliability framework remains a work in progress: ACCAN

Telco customers will benefit from clearer communication from their providers; however, further efforts will be needed to protect consumers against unreliable telco services, according to the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN). Released today, the Morrison Government’s Consumer Safeguards Review Part B report provides a high-level framework that aims to address reliability issues of telco…

29 November , 2019

ACMA recommends immediate action to combat scams

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released its Combating Scams report which recommends new enforceable obligations on telcos and the immediate commencement of trials for a number of scam reduction initiatives. The trials aims to reduce common phone scams such as malicious ‘spoofing’, where scammers disguise their number to make it look like…

27 November , 2019

Consumer representatives report back

Consumer representatives nominated or supported by CFA have written a short report on their activities over the past year. All consumer representatives, whether or not nominated by CFA or representing CFA, are accountable to the consumers whose interests they represent. They have a duty to stay informed about consumers’ interests and how the body to…