Telecommunications and Internet Archives - Page 12 of 29

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…

30 October , 2019

TIO reports increase in phone and internet complaints

Residential consumers and small businesses made 32,801 complaints in the first quarter of 2020 (1 July 2019 to 30 September 2019). In this period complaints about phone and internet services increased 6.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2018. This data was highlighted in the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s Quarter One 2020 Complaints report…

15 October , 2019

Affordability of basic NBN products to be examined

The ACCC will consider whether Australians are able to access basic broadband plans at fair and affordable prices, as part of an inquiry into NBN wholesale charges launched on Monday. The inquiry will examine wholesale prices paid by retail service providers (RSPs), which use the NBN to supply residential-grade broadband services. The ACCC’s inquiry will…

11 October , 2019

Invitation to Consumer Data Right workshop

Consumer Data Standards would like to invite two members of CFA to attend a Consumer Experience workshop on the topic of consumer control. Focus of the workshop This workshop will generate ideas and directions for how to provide more control to Consumer Data Right (CDR) consumers. Consumer Data Standards are asking participants to prepare presentations…