STRONG RESULTS FROM BROADBAND MONITORING

Sydney, 31 July 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.

The ACCC report showed that the six service providers included in the study delivered between 74.4 and 88.3 per cent of the maximum plan speeds during the evening busy period.

“But if we measure performance against the speeds that service providers advertise, the results are even more encouraging,” said Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton.

“The service providers achieved an average of 99.9% of their advertised speeds (excluding the one provider that does not advertise typical busy hour speeds).

“This is an excellent result, showing that customers are receiving the service performance that has been promised and they have purchased,” said Stanton.

“The ACCC’s report provides a positive view of NBN speeds across providers, and in line with recent improvements in customer service, we can see that the work providers have been doing to improve the customer experience is showing results.”

Mr Stanton expressed disappointment that the ACCC chose again to report only against ‘maximum’ speeds, rather than also including advertised speeds.

“This is unfortunate, given that the ACCC has issued guidance – and providers have entered enforceable undertakings in accordance with it – that providers should not make claims around maximum plan speeds, and instead should advertise based on information about ‘typical busy hour speeds.’

“We note the ACCC’s expectation for ISPs to work with their customers on ensuring their plan is appropriate for their connection, and this process will continue to improve with new processes Industry has been working closely with the ACMA on implementing.”

Communications Alliance highlighted the range of positive results in the ACCC report, including the average NBN download speeds and average hourly download speeds.