5 years ago
MORRISON GOVERNMENT HUMILIATED OVER ACCC PROPOSAL TO FINE NBNCO FOR SLOW SPEEDS
MICHELLE ROWLAND MP
In what can only be described as a humiliation for the Morrison Government, a draft ACCC determination into NBN service standards has proposed that the NBNCo be fined $20 a month for slow speeds delivered on the copper network.
As noted in the draft ACCC decision:
“We consider that NBNCo is responsible for the maximum attainable speed for its wholesale products and should not charge for services that it does not provide.” (page 44)
“NBNCo will face a financial consequence for not meeting the minimum speed requirements it has committed to and reflected in the WBA.” (page 44)
“For fixed line services, the draft [access determination] terms will require NBNCo to pay a rebate of $20 for each month that the maximum attainable downlink information rate for a service is less than the PIR objective. (page 46)
Australian taxpayers have spent $51 billion on a network that could be subject to regulatory fines for not delivering basic speeds, and it is extraordinary that the ACCC has felt the need to propose such an extreme step.
In August, the ACCC Speed Monitoring program estimated 12.4 per cent of NBN services don’t ever reach anything close to plan speeds.
The report singled out copper as the culprit and stated that “in many cases, these limited speeds are caused by in-home wiring issues”. Labor has made the case for action on in-home wiring and we urge the Government to stop pretending no such issue exists.
By the end of the rollout, up to 4.7 million Australian households and businesses are expected to be served by Fibre to the Node.
As noted in the draft ACCC decision:
“We consider that NBNCo is responsible for the maximum attainable speed for its wholesale products and should not charge for services that it does not provide.” (page 44)
“NBNCo will face a financial consequence for not meeting the minimum speed requirements it has committed to and reflected in the WBA.” (page 44)
“For fixed line services, the draft [access determination] terms will require NBNCo to pay a rebate of $20 for each month that the maximum attainable downlink information rate for a service is less than the PIR objective. (page 46)
Australian taxpayers have spent $51 billion on a network that could be subject to regulatory fines for not delivering basic speeds, and it is extraordinary that the ACCC has felt the need to propose such an extreme step.
In August, the ACCC Speed Monitoring program estimated 12.4 per cent of NBN services don’t ever reach anything close to plan speeds.
The report singled out copper as the culprit and stated that “in many cases, these limited speeds are caused by in-home wiring issues”. Labor has made the case for action on in-home wiring and we urge the Government to stop pretending no such issue exists.
By the end of the rollout, up to 4.7 million Australian households and businesses are expected to be served by Fibre to the Node.