ACCC zooming into Telcos for NBN speed

[Elss]

Interested to learn what people think about the recent media and ACCC coming out saying they will be zooming into the big four telcos.

Is it fair to the Telcos who resell the NBN? Folks I speak to think most of the speed issues are actually related to NBN technology such as FTTN where there is limitations due to distance & copper.

CVC pricing has had a material impact on the NBN current performance and end users are now dissapointed in terms of what was supposed to be the next generation of Australian Broadband.

I think TPG has always done the best for Aussie end users by:

1. Driving prices down (not up)
2. Introducing Unlimited and moving from Quotas
3. Using Dark Fibre to carry traffic from ADSL2+ DSLAMs
4. Buying Pipe Networks that provided a super highway to the US and Asia for transit
5. Introducing FTTB - as super fast 100Mbps service for $59.99

Is ACCC fixing the real issue at hand or should it be the Telcos to fix the mess started by Kevin Rudd and Stephen Conroy?

[N4M3L355N3RD]

Its not TPG fault that the government messed up. 

but funny how a government body wants to aim the bullet at the ISP providers when they made a stuff up.

If there was any justice out there the ACCC should step back and investigate other parts of the government.

But aye living in a control society is the price we pay.

[stannfrety]

"Buying Pipe Networks that provided a super highway to the US and Asia for transit"

i wouldnt call it a super highway.

[Elss]

Looks like an Internet one to me!

How many Aussie carriers do you know that have their own and have 100% control of a cable that goes International?

[Ozone · Accepted solution]

UPDATE: [21/08/2017] I have updated this post in light of recent developments. The The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published today a guidance on how retailers should promote fixed broadband speeds. See end of my original post for the updated information.

***

I think it's high time that ACCC go after telcos that make big promises on NBN speeds but fail to deliver. The big four telcos (Telstra, Optus, Vocus and TPG) do hold 90% of the NBN market share so this is quite obvious.

I think it's only fair that all telcos should move away from advertising "up to" speeds and start describing plans as "typical speeds at peak and off-peak times".

I mean, clearly there's a complaint case to be had if you paid for an advertised "up to 100 Mbps" plan and only get 45 Mbps at peak hours (8 am to 12 midnight) and 70 Mbps at off-peak hours.

I think it's fair for an NBN advertisement (on the TPG sign up web page) to look something like this:

We have the following NBN plans:
Bronze - 200 Gigabytes any time download quota <put monthly price here>
Silver - Unlimited download quota <put monthly price here>
Gold - Unlimited download quota <put monthly price here>

NBN speeds vary depending on technology used, among other factors.
To get an idea of typical speeds that you might get at peak and off-peak times, enter your address below.
<This is the box where you type in your address>

NBN is using FTTN at your address.
Learn more about FTTN technology... <describes FTTN in further detail>

Typical speeds reported during the last 7 days by our customer's NBN equipment near your address/street/suburb/area show:

Bronze
Peak hours (8 am to 12 midnight) - Between 5 to 8 Mbps
Off-peak hours (all other hours) - Between 7 to 10 Mbps

Silver
Peak hours (8 am to 12 midnight) - Between 7 to 13 Mbps
Off-peak hours (all other hours) - Between 15 to 19 Mbps

Gold
Peak hours (8 am to 12 midnight) - Between 25 to 65 Mbps
Off-peak hours (all other hours) - Between 60 to 78 Mbps

So armed with the above information, if I want the highest speed possible on an unlimited plan, I'll sign up for Gold. And once my service goes active and I get 59 Mbps download speed at 6 pm, then there's no reason to complain. In the long run, if 59 Mbps download speed proves to be inadequate for my needs, then I'll consider transferring to a different provider, be presented with the same information as above, and decide accordingly.

I believe this approach will be good for consumers.

ISPs will be forced not only to compete on price and speed but more importantly, on investing on equipment to accurately measure and monitor their customer's actual connection speeds and invest on buying more bandwidth to improve the speed of their services.

So the only way to gain more customers is to continually improve the services of their existing customers.

I also believe this approach will be good for ISPs as well. It's no longer a race to the bottom in terms of pricing. An ISP that can consistently guaranty the best speed and service across the market can charge premium prices as well.

**

UPDATE: [21/08/2017] I have updated this post in light of recent developments. The The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published today a guidance on how retailers should promote fixed broadband speeds.

Read the news report:

ACCC tells ISPs to ditch maximum speed claims

Read the guidance for retail service providers on how to advertise broadband speeds:

Broadband speed claims: Industry guidance