BROADBAND EDUCATION PACKAGE TO HELP CONSUMERS IMPROVE THEIR ONLINE EXPERIENCE

Sydney, 20 April 2017 – A new education package to help Australian consumers better understand the factors that can influence the performance of their broadband service has been released by the telecommunications industry.

The online package can help consumers to improve their customer experience when using broadband connections. It also provides trouble-shooting tips and advice on interactions with Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

This material, available here, was assembled by ISP members of Communications Alliance, with valuable input from other stakeholders, including the Department of Communications and the Arts, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).

Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton, noted there had been much public and regulatory commentary of late about the performance of broadband services in Australia.

“That’s not surprising, given the importance that Australians place on broadband’s role in facilitating their daily personal and business interactions,

“But many consumers have found it difficult to understand the differences between various broadband technologies, what factors can influence the performance of each, what they should look for when choosing a broadband service, what they can do to improve the performance of their service and what to do if something goes wrong,

“Some factors are outside the consumers’ control, but the information released today is designed to give many consumers a broader understanding of how the technology works and the knowledge to positively influence the factors that they can control.”

The information is available to any stakeholder that wishes to publish it or make it available online, and can be found at http://commsalliance.com.au/BEP.

The package will be updated periodically to take account of technological and other developments.