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Technology news and Jobs 
Fuzzy Logic ACMA: Consumers ‘happy’ with telco services – but not farmers
Fuzzy Logic ACMA: Consumers ‘happy’ with telco services – but not farmers | ACMA: Consumers ‘happy’ with telco services – but not farmers |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Thursday, 28 February 2008 | |
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Page 1 of 3       
Processing reports must take a long time at ACMA for their latest gives us information gathered in April and May 2007, nearly an eon ago in ‘Internet time’. Still, ACMA’s ‘new’ report notes that four out of five Australians, or 81% of respondents, are ‘generally satisfied’ with their telecommunications services, although ACMA reports there are “notable differences in satisfaction levels between households, small and medium enterprises and the rural sector”. The report looks as today’s mix of telco services, including “fixed-line (landline), mobile, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and internet services”. Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman, said that: ‘While consumer perceptions about services were positive overall, the research suggests that the farm sector is significantly less satisfied with their internet and mobile phone services than households and small to medium business owners”. According to ACMA’s press release, 35% of farmers (and ‘farm-based consumers’) were dissatisfied with their mobile phone service, citing problems such as “poor call quality, drop-outs and interference”. It makes me wonder how many of these users were on Next G, CDMA or GSM services. 26% of the same group “also expressed dissatisfaction with internet services, primarily due to the slow speed of their service” – but once again, how many were using Next G or satellite services? How many are now using ADSL or ADSL2+ that weren't a year ago? ACMA’s report might have this in detail, but they’ve left it out of their press statement, and these are important considerations. For a truer picture, a new report needs to be urgently compiled – and released within days or weeks, not month later. Most regular householders in metropolitan are reported to be “happy with their Internet Service Provider” with 58% saying they are unlikely to switch – but how many are locked into 24 or 36 month contracts, and still have months to go before they could switch without paying huge cancellation fees? As you’d expect, many consumers in non-metropolitan areas “perceived their internet services as inferior to those in metropolitan areas”. So, what else did the report uncover - and why can't telcos deliver 'good old fashioned' service - instead of sometimes sending customers into fits of rage over poor service and poor pricing? Please read onto page 2. |
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