24.04.2010
ACCAN presentation to the
Sixth National Deafness at the
Summit
Generations – Yesterday Today
and Tomorrow
Allan Asher
Chief Executive, ACCAN
The national broadband network
and what it will mean for you
•ACCAN’s Vision and Mission
•Available, Accessible and
•Affordable Communications
•Humans rights basis
•Mission
•Campaigning
•Market failure
•Empowerment
•Research
•partnerships
About
ACCAN
• ACCAN represents
communications consumers
on issues including
telecommunications,
broadband and emerging new
services
consumers
• ACCAN provides a strong, co-ordinated
voice to industry and government and
works towards availability, accessibility and
affordability of communications services for
all Australians
• ACCAN promotes better consumer
protection outcomes ensuring speedy
responses to complaints and issues
•ACCAN aims to empower consumers so
they are well informed and can make good
choices about products and services.
•ACCAN activates its broad and diverse
membership base to campaign to get a
better deal for communications
Members
• 130 members – individuals and
organisations
• Members include:
disability advocacy groups,
regional associations, community
legal centres, farmers
federations, parents groups,
pensioners
Governance
• 9 member Board
• Chair is Ms Sue Salthouse
(Women With Disabilities Australia)
2 Advisory Bodies:
•Standing Advisory Committee on Consumer
Affairs
•Standing Advisory Committee on
Disability Issues
Resourcing
• Funded by the Department of Broadband,
Communications and the Digital Economy
• 4 year funding contract
• 10 staff, more coming!
• Sydney-based office
Commitment to accessibility
*National Disability Strategy
*UN Convention on Rights of
*Persons with Disabilities
*National Relay Service
*Standing Committee on
Disability Issues
*SMS Emergency Services
Disability Policy Adviser
ACCAN’s Strategic Goals
•Government and the NBN
•Policy Principles
•Issues
•Broadband and Disability
•Grants scheme
•WA deaf Society
•National Ethnic Disability
Alliance
Policy principles:
•New universal service obligation
•Attention to accessibility and affordability
•No consumer to be worse off
•Infrastructure and services to be accessible
•Consumer requirements to be considered
•Consumer protection to be built in not bolted on
•Migration to be seamless
•Information and education programs are must
•Regulatory regime needs to be revamped
Issues for action
•Innovative broadband applications
•New services becoming available
•Waiting times reduced
•Constant availability
•Advantages the service providers
•Consumer protection and remedies
"Every year we spend hundreds
of millions of dollars on billing,
which includes processing bill
payments, paying third-party
billing service providers,
answering customers'
questions about their bills
and operating systems to
support billing."
– Telstra
Current consumer
protection and remedies:
•Access and affordability
•Performance reliability and
security
•Complaint handling
•Enforcement mechanisms
•Broader national interest
What will it do?
•Broadband at 100 Mb per second
•100 times faster than current
•Connection to 90% of homes and premises
•Remaining 12 Mb per second
•Universal access
•Digital dividend
•No guarantee of access
•Price and availability issues
•Wholesale only network
Digital TV
Digital Switchover will begin in the South West
Slopes- Eastern Riverina in January 2012
www.digitalready.gov.au
Contact details:
Suite 402 Level 4
55 Mountain St
Ultimo NSW 2007
Tel:
Email:
Web:
02 9288 4000
allan.asher@accan.org.au
www.accan.org.au