In a speech on 24 February, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Rod Sims, outlined the areas of focus of the ACCC's compliance and enforcement activities for 2017.

One of the areas of focus in the consumer protection area is broadband performance and speed claims. The ACCC has recently released 6 principles to guide retail providers of broadband services in marketing material and the provision of information to consumers. These are:

  • Consumers should be provided with accurate information regarding typical busy period speeds that an average consumer on a broadband plan should expect to receive.
  • Wholesale network speeds or theoretical speeds taken from technical specifications should not be advertised without reference to typical busy period speeds.
  • Information about the performance of promoted applications should be accurate and sufficiently prominent.
  • Factors known to affect service performance should be disclosed to consumers.
  • Performance information should be presented in a manner that is easily comparable by consumers.
  • Retail service providers should have systems in place to diagnose and resolve speed issues

These principles, and the decision of the ACCC to make this an area of focus for 2017, reflect concerns that, at the current time, consumers are not being provided with sufficient information when they select their home broadband plans. This is inhibiting competition and resulting in increased consumer complaints and dissatisfaction. This is a particular issue now, given that many consumers are making decisions on preferred providers as migration to the National Broadband Network ramps up across Australia.

The ACCC is developing best practice guidance in implementing these principles, working with industry and other key stakeholders, for release by end June 2017. The ACCC is also proposing that its work in this area will be supported by the implementation of a broadband performance monitoring and reporting program, modelled on programs used in other jurisdictions, such is the US, UK, Singapore and New Zealand. However, the ACCC has not yet received the funding needed for that program.

Rod Sims also noted in his speech that the ACCC will have a particular focus on consumer guarantees that apply to more complex products and services, including in the telecommunications sector. This is linked with the ACCC's work on broadband speeds, including what consumer guarantee redress might apply if consumers do not get the speed that they paid for. In addition, consumer guarantees for service drop out or delay will be examined.

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