A report into an Australian Communications Authority (ACA) investigation showed Telstra had failed to connect new services within CSG timeframe of one month from request in urban and major rural areas where infrastructure was limited.
"A significant decline for the services in these categories was disclosed by the figures for the June 1999 quarter," the report said. "Only 63 percent connected within the CSG timeframe for urban consumers and 56 percent for those in major rural locations."
Adversely affecting the performance, the report found, was inadequate infrastructure, deficient records of distribution pairs and poor work practices and procedures.
Although acknowledging that Telstra was working to alleviate the problems, ACA chair Tony Shaw expressed concerns regarding the speed of implementation.
"Telstra's remedial actions are appropriate responses to the systematic factors which have contributed to poor performance," he said.
"However, the ACA still has serious concerns about the timeliness of the solutions and expects to see improvements over the coming months."
