SYDNEY: The wireless broadband subscriptions in Australia fell by 3 percent while its excess data charges were increased by 27 percent and customers filed over 14,534 complains during 2-13.14 period.
After years of growth, mobile handset and wireless broadband subscription levels are starting to reach saturation levels in Australia, according to the Australian competition watchdog.
The commission has issued its latest ‘ACCC Annual Telecommunications Report 2013-14’, which was tabled in Parliament yesterday, and not only notes the big drop in landline and voice calls since 1997-98, it also notes that broadband has also received ‘larger data allowances, faster speeds and lower prices’.
While new mobile broadband subscriptions decreased slightly in 2013-14, consumer complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (ITO) about excess data charges increased by 27 percent, to 14,534 complaints during the year.
The TIO also received 3,982 new complaints about National Broadband Network (NBN)-related matters, over issues such as connection delays, faults, and missed appointments.
Overall, however, the TIO received 12 percent fewer complaints in the year ending June 2014, to 139,000, its lowest level in six years. Likewise, the ACCC itself received 13 percent fewer complaints about the industry than in the prior year, to 2,474.
Although mobile services still accounted for the majority of telecommunications complaints in 2013-14, complaints about mobile services decreased by 21 percent over the year.
The TIO received about 55 percent fewer complaints about mobile coverage compared to the previous year. This fall coincides with significant investment in mobile infrastructure and the migration of many mobile customers to 4G networks.
In fact, strong investment in 4G mobile network rollouts by the country’s major telcos did not appear to impact competition-driven decreases in prices paid by consumers for telecommunications services, which fell by 2.7 percent in real terms in 2013-14.
The average real prices of landline and mobile voice calls have now fallen by around 50 percent since 1997-98. Broadband customers are also seeing larger data allowances, faster speeds, and lower prices.
In 2013-14, the average real prices paid for fixed-voice services declined by 5.2 percent, significantly more than the decline in 2012-13 of 3.2 percent, while the average real price paid for all types of internet services fell by 2.2 percent during the period, significantly greater than the 0.9 percent reduction in 2012-13.
ACCC chairman Rod Sims put the price decreases over the year down to vigorous competition in the sector.
“Competition is driving substantive reductions in the price of telecommunications services, significant infrastructure investment to improve the quality and coverage of services, and technological innovation,” said Sims. “Consumers are seeing lower prices and improved services as a result of the vigorous competition that began in the 1990s.”
The report also highlights the pivotal role that the NBN is expected to play in the future of Australia’s telecommunications industry, along with the structural mechanisms surrounding its implementation.
