The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is currently investigating Telstra's practices when disclosing service levels that consumers can expect from phone lines provided by line-splitting technologies such as pair-gain and RIM (Remote Integrated Multiplexing). However, the watchdog said it won't be re-examining rental pricing associated with multiplexed lines.
"That's not the route we're going down because people who have Telstra lines are receiving the service that's required to be provided in terms of obligations on Telstra," said ACCC commissioner, Rod Shogren. "There's no requirement on Telstra to provide particular levels of Internet connection speed, for example."
Shadow minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy, said that the regulatory environment is hampering efforts to pursue the plight of customers who claim their connection speed is degraded by line-splitting technology.
-That's been one of the problems in resolving this issue, there is no regulation that says Telstra has got to provide a non-pair gain line or a line of a specific speed," Lundy said.
According to Lundy, Telstra is only obliged to provide 2.4 kilobits-per-second of bandwidth to meet the requirements of telephony.
Under Senate questioning in February, Telstra indicated that its line-splitting technology was adequate to meet the recommendations of the government's Telecommunications Services Inquiry, the Besley report.
The AU$50 million Internet Assistance Program (IAP), a result of the Besley report, was established to provide minimum connection speeds of 19.2 kilobits-per-second.
During questioning Telstra claimed that most, but not all, of the lines provisioned through line-splitting technologies could provide data speeds of 26 kilobits-per-second. It then said that the IAP would help slower Pair Gains reach the recommended 19.2-kilobit-per-second data rate.
But Senator Lundy says that's inadequate and that customers now expect Telstra services to match the potential of the modems and PCs they buy.
-I think that expectation is fostered by Telstra but when they're unable to deliver, they're not prepared to give the customer any hope for an improvement in the level of service," she said. -Following that issue, it must be said if Telstra aren't willing to provide that service we should look at the public policy settings to see who is."
She is now calling for the government to re-assess consumer needs to introduce regulations that guarantee better service levels. And this time, she said, taxpayers shouldn't foot the bill.
-When Besley said that the data services in the bush are inadequate I didn't hear Telstra saying 'we've deployed these pair gains to reduce our capital expenditure costs on our network for the last ten years," Lundy said. -They said 'we need another AU$50 million from the government to upgrade our services' -- which they got and it's outrageous."
