Industry Proposes a Way Forward on Broadband Speed Claims
Sydney, 29 August 2016 – Communications Alliance and the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) have proposed the creation of an industry Guideline on making representations to consumers about the performance of broadband services.
The proposal comes in response to a discussion paper released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Broadband Speed Claims. The Communications Alliance/AMTA submission is available here.
The Associations argue that Retail Service Providers (RSPs) are best placed to communicate information to consumers about the broadband performance they can expect to receive from a given service – including taking account of the wide range of different factors that can affect service performance.
The Associations have offered to create the Communications Alliance Guideline in collaboration with Government, regulators and consumer representatives.
The submission also:
- provides explanation around the existing impediments to RSPs being able to provide precise speed information to customers;
- foreshadows a public education package about broadband performance that is being prepared by industry;
- offers an evidence based argument to show that upload and download speeds are typically not the highest priority for consumers when assessing which service to purchase;
- provides some context to the complaints about internet services being made to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO);
- casts doubt over the ability of a broadband quality monitoring program (proposed by the ACCC) to achieve its objective (and warns that the result of such a program might in fact be anticompetitive); and
- details the wide range of existing tools available to consumers to enable them to monitor the quality of their broadband service.
ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE Communications Alliance is the primary communications industry body in Australia. Its membership is drawn from a wide cross-section of the communications industry, including carriers, carriage and internet service providers, content providers, platform providers, equipment vendors, IT companies, consultants and business groups.
Its vision is to be the most influential association in Australian communications, co-operatively initiating programs that promote sustainable industry development, innovation and growth, while generating positive outcomes for customers and society.
The prime mission of Communications Alliance is to create a co-operative stakeholder environment that allows the industry to take the lead on initiatives which grow the Australian communications industry, enhance the connectivity of all Australians and foster the highest standards of business behaviour. For more details about Communications Alliance, see www.commsalliance.com.au.
Media information contact:
info@commsalliance.com.au
The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) is the peak industry body representing Australia’s mobile telecommunications industry. Its mission is to promote an environmentally, socially and economically responsible, successful and sustainable mobile telecommunications industry in Australia, with members including the mobile Carriage Service Providers (CSPs), handset manufacturers, network equipment suppliers, retail outlets and other suppliers to the industry. For more details about AMTA, see www.amta.org.au.