NBN Co told to pay higher compensation for service delays

The ACCC has proposed new measures to ensure NBN customers are properly compensated for delayed connections and unresolved faults.

NBN Co chief executive Stephen Rue. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

The nation’s competition watchdog has proposed new measures to ensure NBN customers are properly compensated for delayed connections and unresolved faults, as the country's broadband infrastructure continues to be pushed to its limits.

The ACCC on Thursday said it would ask NBN to increase its missed appointment rebate to $75, cash that would be passed on to customers by their internet service providers. Currently, the company has to pay just $25 in compensation.

The watchdog also proposed making the rebate charged for late connections and fault repairs accrue daily, and adding a $20 rebate for fixed wireless users who are connected to a congested cell.

A recent economic analysis commissioned by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network priced the inconvenience of outright missed appointments at $150 for consumers. The most recent available statistics show NBN Co’s field technicians missed 127,746 appointments in the last financial year.

“In the course of this inquiry, the ACCC has found that NBN Co’s wholesale arrangements on key aspects of service delivery, including connections, fault repairs, keeping appointments and network speed performance lack clear and strong service commitments and appropriate recourse when service levels are not met,” the regulator said.

“We have found that NBN Co’s service level commitments have either been expressed in terms of ‘best efforts’, have focused on overall or average performance rather than individual service outcomes, or both.

“Although NBN Co has shown considerable improvements in meeting service level targets, and in other aspects of service delivery over the course of the inquiry, the focus on overall or average performance can mask instances of poor service outcomes for individual consumers.”

The recommendations form part of two position papers the ACCC released on Thursday, as part of inquiries the regulator said it would pause while the communications sector focuses on handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have released the ­position papers to provide guidance for NBN Co and access ­seekers if they continue negotiations on new wholesale arrangements, which are due to expire later this year,” ACCC commissioner ­Cristina Cifuentes said.

“NBN Co has recently allowed access seekers to boost their capacity on the network by up to 40 per cent at no extra cost for three months, which does temporarily address a key concern we have regarding NBN access pricing for basic services.”

The ACCC also said it would seek to ensure the lowest-tier NBN plan, 12/1 megabits per second, remains competitively priced given some consumers struggle to find affordable plans when transitioning to the NBN.

An NBN Co spokesman said the company appreciated the ACCC had acknowledged and recognised the uncertainty created by COVID-19, but its recommendations were unwarranted.

“The principle remains that the telecommunications market is functioning efficiently and effectively and the ACCC’s foreshadowed regulatory intervention is not warranted and could drive unintended consequences,” he said.