Australian telecom firms fined $22.1 mln for false internet speed claims



A miss makes usage of her mobile smartphone arsenic she walks beyond successful the beforehand of an Optus store successful Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/File Photo

Nov 11 () - Three Australian telecom groups had been ordered done a courtroom to wage a corporate A$33.5 cardinal ($22.08 million) successful consequences for making deceptive claims astir gait of immoderate NBN net plans, the u . S .'s absorption regulator said connected Friday.

The Australian Federal Court has ordered Telstra (TLS.AX) to wage A$15 million, a portion of TPG Telecom (TPG.AX) to cough up A$5 million, and imposed a first-class of A$thirteen.Five cardinal connected Optus, a portion of Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI), the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said.

According to the ACCC, the fake oregon deceptive statements were made for arsenic a minimum 1 twelvemonth successful 2019 and successful each likelihood prolonged until 2020, related to their 50 Megabits successful keeping with 2nd (Mbps) oregon 100Mbps fibre to the node plans.

All 3 telcos person admitted successful tribunal docket of creating mendacious oregon misleading statements, the regulator said, claiming astir 1 100 twenty,000 customers had been affected.

Telstra stated successful a announcement that betwixt April 2019 and April 2020 it didn't verify the maximum achievable gait of the NBN services ordered with the assistance of circular forty eight,000 clients either perfectly oregon wrong an inexpensive duration aft connection.

NBN, oregon National Broadband Network, is simply a cardinal authority-run broadband network.

"We've agelong gone done an successful extent remediation and refund process. We've additionally taken immoderate of steps to guarantee we amended conscionable our regulatory obligations," Telstra delivered.

Optus and TPG Telecom spokespersons, successful abstracted emailed responses to , stated the organizations person made changes to their systems and approaches to woody with the issues raised by utilizing the tribunal cases.

"During 2021, TPG Internet undertook a remediation exertion wherein it contacted each affected customers and presented refunds to those NBN FTTN clients who were eligible," a TPG spokesperson stated.

Optus stated it volition besides re-contact the clients who're eligible for remediation. 

($1 = 1.5175 Australian greenbacks)

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