2018 Media Releases
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPLAINTS IN CONTEXT FOR OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2017
25/01/2018 - Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman as a proportion of services in operation (SIO) for participating service providers increased to 8.7 complaints per 10,000 services for the period October to December 2017.2018 Media Release 1
2018 ACOMMS – AUSTRALIA’S COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY AWARDS – NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES
12/02/2018 - Nominations have opened for the Australian communications industry’s premier awards - the ACOMMS - with 11 categories celebrating performance excellence in innovation, customer service, marketing and product solutions across the breadth of the telecommunications sector.2018 Media Release 2
INDUSTRY WELCOMES NEW DRAFT REGULATION ON COMPLAINT HANDLING
15/03/2018 - The telecommunications industry welcomed the release today by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) of new draft regulatory instruments relating to complaint handling and record keeping.2018 Media Release 3
POSITIVE REPORT CARD FOR BROADBAND PERFORMANCE
29/03/2018 - Communications Alliance welcomed the inaugural Measuring Broadband Australia report, released today by the competition regulator, the ACCC. The report showed that customers within the sample group were receiving 80%-92% of their maximum plan speed during busy hours – and that busy hour speeds were only marginally slower than the performance in non-busy periods.2018 Media Release 4
INDUSTRY WELCOMES NEW DRAFT REGULATIONS ON NBN MIGRATION
10/04/2018 - The telecommunications industry welcomed the release today by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) of new regulatory instruments relating to consumer information and protections during the migration to the NBN.2018 Media Release 5
INDUSTRY IS WORKING TO IMPROVE OVERALL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
17/04/2018 - The complaint statistics contained in the TIO Six Month Update are disappointing and highlight that the telecommunications industry has to do more to improve the customer experience.2018 Media Release 6
INDUSTRY WELCOMES THE CONSUMER SAFEGUARDS REVIEW
17/04/2018 - Industry welcomes today’s announcement by the Minister for Communications and the Arts, Senator Mitch Fifield, of the commencement of a Consumer Safeguards Review in the telecommunications sector.2018 Media Release 7
COMPLAINTS IN CONTEXT REPORT AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYS SHOW NEED FOR CONTINUED EFFORTS
20/04/2018 - Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman as a proportion of services in operation (SIO) for participating service providers increased to 9.3 complaints per 10,000 services for the period January to March 2018. This is higher than the previous quarter at 8.7.2018 Media Release 8
INDUSTRY RECOMMENDS IMPROVED COMPLAINT HANDLING RULES
24/04/2018 - Communications Alliance has proposed a set of improvements to proposed new regulatory rules on the handling of consumer complaints about telecommunications services.2018 Media Release 9
INDUSTRY RECOMMENDS IMPROVEMENTS TO NEW NBN MIGRATION RULES
17/05/2018 - Communications Alliance has proposed improvements to make new draft NBN migration rules more consumer-focused and practical to implement.2018 Media Release 10
CALL FOR SATELLITE AND MOBILE SERVICES TO SHARE SCARCE SPECTRUM
21/05/2018 - More flexible and innovative approaches are needed in Australia to allow 5G mobile services and satellite-based services to co-exist, according to the nation’s communications satellite sector.2018 Media Release 11
NEW TELCO RULES FOCUS ON STRONGER INDUSTRY COOPERATION TO HELP CONSUMERS
07/06/2018 - Communications Alliance today welcomed the new complaints handling Standard for the telecommunications sector, published by the industry regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).2018 Media Release 12
MNF GROUP IS TITLE SPONSOR FOR 2018 ACOMM AWARDS
18/06/2018 - The MNF Group has signed on as the Title Sponsor for the upcoming 2018 ACOMM Awards – the industry awards recognising excellence in the Australian telecommunications sector.2018 Media Release 13
IMPROVEMENTS TO NBN CONSUMER MIGRATION RULES
22/06/2018 - Communications Alliance has welcomed a range of improvements to new regulatory instruments published today and designed to assist consumers moving to the National Broadband Network (NBN).2018 Media Release 14
INDUSTRY REACTION TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S CONSUMER SAFEGUARDS REVIEW PAPER
05/07/2018 - Communications Alliance has welcomed the long-awaited commencement of the Government’s Consumer Safeguards Review, which came through today’s release of a consultation paper addressing Redress and Complaints Handling in the sector.2018 Media Release 15
STRONGER TELCO CONSUMER PROTECTION CODE – FEEDBACK WANTED
09/07/2018 - A stronger Consumer Protection Code for the telecommunications sector has been released for public comment today, designed to further improve customer service for telco users across Australia. The draft Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code has been revised to strengthen consumer safeguards and adapt to changes in the market and technology.2018 Media Release 16
2018 ACOMMS FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
17/07/2018 - Communications Alliance is proud to announce the finalists for 2018 in the communications industry’s premier awards for excellence, the ACOMMS, which recognise exemplary achievement across 11 categories of endeavour.2018 Media Release 17
STATEMENT ON COMMUNICATIONS COMPLIANCE APPOINTMENTS
23/07/2018 - Telecommunications industry body, Communications Alliance, has welcomed the appointment of David Epstein as the Chair of independent industry monitoring and compliance body, Communications Compliance.2018 Media Release 18
SOME POSITIVES IN LATEST ACCAN RESEARCH
23/07/2018 - Communications Alliance noted ACCAN’s release today of a customer survey from February and March of this year.2018 Media Release 19
INDUSTRY WELCOMES NEW NBN SERVICE MIGRATION RULES
23/07/2018 - Communications Alliance has welcomed the NBN Service Migration Determination published today by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The Determination is the last of a suite of five regulatory instruments designed to further improve the migration experience of consumers moving onto the National Broadband Network (NBN).2018 Media Release 20
REPORTS SHOW RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN TELCO CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
25/07/2018 - Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) as a proportion of services in operation (SIO) for participating service providers have improved by almost 20 per cent in the most recent quarter, April – June 2018.2018 Media Release 21
STRONG RESULTS FROM BROADBAND MONITORING
31/07/2018 - Communications Alliance welcomed today’s ACCC Broadband Monitoring report, which confirms that service providers continue to provide high speeds to their customers, and that increased traffic during busy hours is being well managed and only has a limited effect on the speeds experienced by consumers.2018 Media Release 22
COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE WELCOMES NEW NBN CEO
22/08/2018 - Communications Alliance today welcomed the appointment of Stephen Rue as the new CEO of NBN Co and paid tribute to outgoing CEO, Bill Morrow.2018 Media Release 23
2018 ACOMM AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
30/08/2018 - The winners of the prestigious 2018 Communications Alliance Awards were announced last night at the 12th Annual ACOMM Awards Dinner in Sydney. Attended by more than 450 industry leaders, the evening’s keynote address was delivered by Senator the Hon. Mitch Fifield, Federal Minister for Communications and the Arts.2018 Media Release 24
FAMILY FRIENDLY FILTER PROGRAM HELPS AUSTRALIAN PARENTS PROTECT KIDS ONLINE
11/09/2018 - Australian parents wanting to protect their families from unwanted or harmful internet content now have new options under the reinvigorated Family Friendly Filter program operated by Communications Alliance.2018 Media Release 25
STAKEHOLDER FORUM TO SCRUTINISE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S ENCRYPTION LEGISLATION
18/09/2018 - Stakeholders from across the Australian digital and social ecosphere will come together this week to investigate controversial elements of the Federal Government’s planned encryption legislation.2018 Media Release 26
SLOW DOWN, STOP AND LISTEN – CONSUMERS, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS, INDUSTRY, TELCOS AND TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES JOIN FORCES TO SOUND ALARM AT GOVERNMENT’S SPYWARE LEGISLATION
03/10/2018 - A diverse group of consumer representatives, human rights organisations, industry, technology and telecommunications companies has today joined forces under the banner Alliance for a Safe and Secure Internet with a plea to the Government to slow down, stop ignoring the concerns of technology experts, and listen to its citizens when they raise legitimate concerns with the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018.2018 Media Release 27
COMPLAINT NUMBERS TURN THE CORNER - DATA SHOWS REFORMS ARE WORKING
17/10/2018 - New complaint statistics contained in the TIO’s 2017/18 Annual Report demonstrate that recent industry, government and regulatory initiatives are improving outcomes for individual and small business telco consumers.2018 Media Release 28
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY REINFORCES SUPPORT FOR CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE
23/10/2018 - Communications Alliance today published a Guideline to help telecommunications providers assist Customers who are impacted by the all-too-frequent scourge of domestic and family violence.2018 Media Release 29
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPLAINTS IN CONTEXT AT LOWEST LEVEL IN TWO YEARS
25/10/2018 - The volume of complaints about telco service providers has continued to fall in the past quarter, as shown in the Complaints in Context report published today by Communications Alliance.2018 Media Release 30
RESEARCH SHOWS AUSTRALIANS DEEPLY CONCERNED BY GOVERNMENT’S SPYWARE LEGISLATION: GOVERNMENT SHOULD SLOW DOWN, STOP AND LISTEN
25/10/2018 - New research released today by the Alliance for a Safe and Secure Internet shows a majority of Australians are deeply concerned by the Government’s proposed Assistance and Access Bill 2018 – known as the Encryption Bill.2018 Media Release 31
AUSTRALIAN SATELLITE GROUP JOINS GLOBAL COALITION
29/10/2018 - The Satellite Services Working Group (SSWG) of Communications Alliance has joined the Global Satellite Coalition (GSC) – a grouping of the world’s leading satellite industry associations.2018 Media Release 32
STRONG RESULTS FROM BROADBAND MONITORING
05/11/2018 - Internet Service Providers (ISPs) monitored by the competition regulator have exceeded the performance promised to customers – delivering 102.3% of the advertised speed of the services they provide.2018 Media Release 33
COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE LOOKS FORWARD TO FURTHER ENGAGEMENT ON CONSUMER SAFEGUARDS REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS
15/11/2018 - Communications Alliance today welcomed the decision to retain the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), but cautioned against Government recommendations that could threaten its independence.2018 Media Release 34
AUSTRALIA’S CYBERSECURITY RELIES ON GOVERNMENT MAKING GOOD, NOT RUSHED LAWS
22/11/2018 - A number of industry associations are calling for the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) not to scuttle the Parliamentary process and bow to Government pressure to wave through the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018, also known as the Encryption Bill. The call came after Prime Minister Scott Morrison “insisted” that the PJCIS cut short its Inquiry into the Encryption Bill and the Bill be passed within the next fortnight.2018 Media Release 35
THE ALLIANCE FOR A SAFE AND SECURE INTERNET WELCOMES LABOR’S PRINCIPLED APPROACH TO NATIONAL SECURITY
30/11/2018 - The Alliance for a Safe and Secure Internet welcomes the decision by the Opposition today to ensure a fundamentally flawed bill is not rushed through Parliament for political expediency. The powers contained within the Bill appear to have far reaching consequences that could be devastating to the security of all Australians if enacted, and it is important that leaders within the Government slow down and listen to the experts when they receive overwhelming evidence of the harm this Bill could cause.2018 Media Release 36
STATEMENT FROM COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE ON ENCRYPTION BILL
04/12/2018 - We do not yet have a detailed picture of what the Government and Labor may have agreed in relation to the Encryption Bill. We need to see that detail before commenting substantively.2018 Media Release 37
PARLIAMENT MUST ACT TO CLOSE DANGEROUS LOOPHOLE IN ENCRYPTION BILL
05/12/2018 - As Government and Labor MPs work today to craft amendments to the Assistance and Access Bill, it appears that one of the biggest flaws in the proposed legislation will not be addressed.2018 Media Release 38
INDUSTRY REJECTS CALLS TO PROVIDE GOVERNMENT WITH FREE EMERGENCY ALERTS
12/12/2018 - Communications Alliance today welcomed a discussion about the respective roles and responsibilities in relation to emergency services but rejected calls from the Queensland Government for mobile carriers to provide emergency alerts without compensation.2018 Media Release 39