NBN speed lies: Dodo and Primus hit with $2.5 million fines after false broadband speed claims
Two of Australia’s biggest internet providers will pay millions of dollars in fines after misleading customers about their NBN speeds.
National
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Two of Australia’s biggest internet providers have been stung with $2.5 million in fines after misleading customers about broadband speeds they could expect over the NBN.
Dodo and Primus Telecommunications will have to pay $1.5 million and $1 million respectively after the Federal Court found in favour of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Wednesday.
The companies, part of the Vocus Group that boasts more than 436,000 broadband customers, used inappropriate ways to determine and advertise what “typical evening speed” users would receive over their NBN connections, the court found.
ACCC chairman Rod Sims said he launched legal action against the providers last year as the “misleading speed claims” between March 2018 and April 2019 meant users could not make an informed choice about broadband services.
“The ACCC brought this case because we were concerned that the methodology which the Vocus Group used as the basis for its speed claims cherrypicked only the fastest speeds its network could deliver and ignored the slower speeds many of its customers experienced,” Mr Sims said.
“Accurate information about broadband speeds, particularly during the busy period when consumers are most likely to use their services, is essential for consumers to be able to compare broadband offers and pick the best service for their needs.”
Rather than use industry standard speed testing, Dodo and Primus rated typical broadband speeds on their network by “using only the daily 75 fastest speeds” across their networks during peak periods while excluding slower speeds from the calculations.
The Vocus Group issued a statement about the Federal Court ruling late on Wednesday, saying the penalty related to “historic speed testing methodology” and the internet providers made improvements to its network this year.
“As noted by the Court, there was no evidence that consumers received internet connection speeds lower than those advertised at any time or incurred any financial harm,” the statement read.
“Dodo and iPrimus co-operated fully with the ACCC throughout these proceedings and have agreed to settle the historic claims.”
The $1.5 million fine is the second time Dodo has been penalised for misleading consumers about its NBN services as the company was forced to refund $360,000 to about 16,000 customers in July 2019 for promoting entry-level, limited-data products as “perfect for streaming”.
The ACCC launched a standard for retailers to test typical NBN speeds in 2017 and regularly issues performance reports on NBN providers through its Measuring Broadband Australia program.
Dodo and iPrimus placed last out of Australia’s 10 major NBN providers for average download speed in the most recent report, issued in March 2021.
Originally published as NBN speed lies: Dodo and Primus hit with $2.5 million fines after false broadband speed claims
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