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Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) research has found that broadband speeds and performance levels are leaving consumers disappointed with services.Releasing the results of its research today, ACCAN stated that a “lack of reliable information on broadband quality for consumers to use when choosing a plan means that it is difficult to make the right choices”.
The ACCAN survey found that quality is the third most important factor for consumers in choosing a broadband service, ranking behind price and monthly data allowance.
ACCAN states, however, that consumers appear to be confused by the market. Among the survey results, 58 per cent of participants agreed with the statement: “You get the same speeds at home as advertised in your plan”.
“This confusion and lack of information inevitably leads to disappointment with services, as demonstrated by nearly 70 per cent of respondents saying they had unsatisfactory experiences with their broadband services,” ACCAN CEO Teresa Corbin commented.
“The top reason given was slow speeds at some times of the day. This indicates that a consumer’s experience of broadband services is limited by factors which are outside of their control or visibility.”
ACCAN notes that, while broadband performance is often thought to mean the speed at which information is received, there are a range of factors that contribute to overall performance, citing the example of VoIP services, which require a reliable connection with limited delays and distortions, but not a very high download speed.
“Performance is also affected by the equipment used by consumers and by the commercial decisions and the technology used by service, network and content providers,” ACCAN notes.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last year completed a pilot broadband performance monitoring and reporting program, with ACCAN calling on the federal government to support an independent broadband monitoring program.
“Plans are commonly advertised on headline speed claims, which may only be achievable in ideal test conditions and not what consumers should expect to obtain in real-world everyday use,” Corbin stated. “Claims are qualified with an elusive list of factors that can affect performance, but this is difficult for consumers to engage with or apply to their service.
“If they are experiencing poor-quality services, consumers may benefit from switching providers. However, it is almost impossible for the consumer to know whether this would be a good decision because information on provider performance is not currently available to consumers.
“This leaves consumers with the choice to stay with their current provider or risk switching to another without any performance data assisting their decision.”
ACCAN states that the “issue is heightened with the promise of faster and better technologies and services over the NBN and super-fast broadband networks”.
“The quality of broadband services is becoming very important, particularly as more consumers move to the NBN, plans are offered on a range of speeds and consumers are using the internet for an increasing range of services,” Corbin stated.
