ACMA: Consumers ‘happy’ with telco services – but not farmers

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 28 February 2008 15:57

Opinion and Analysis

“In terms of voice services, the highest levels of satisfaction were found in relation to traditional services associated with the fixed telephone. The majority of consumers (68 per cent) felt their local telephone service provider mostly met or exceeded their expectations, with only 4 per cent stating that services rarely met their expectations.”

“There was no significant regional difference between metropolitan and non-metropolitan users of local fixed-line telephone services, but there were some differences recorded for STD and international fixed-line services.”

“Landline services are perceived by customers as a critical voice service – 74 per cent of household consumers rated them as a critical service for the future.”

“For both SMEs and farm consumers, mobiles have allowed them to operate their businesses more flexibly and efficiently.”

“Just over half (51 per cent) of farm customers were satisfied with their mobile services, 35 per cent dissatisfied and 14 per cent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. For household consumers, the level of satisfaction was higher at 66 per cent.”

“Household, farm and SME consumers all expressed similar reasons when they were dissatisfied with their voice and internet services. These included consumer perceptions of:”

- unreliable service, faults and network problems with fixed-line and mobile phone;
- limited mobile coverage;
- high cost of service, including line rental, mobile services and limited choice of provider;
- limited availability and poor service quality of internet services; and
- poor customer service for all telecommunications services.