Australian telecom operator fined US $2200 for false speed promotion

November 11, according to foreign media reports, Australia's competition regulator said on Friday that three Australian telecom companies had been ordered to pay a total fine of A $3350 (US $22.08 million) for misleading publicity about some Internet speeds of NBN (National Broadband Network).

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the Australian Federal Court had ordered Telstra to pay an A $15 million fine, a subsidiary of TPG Telecom to pay an A $5 million fine and Optus to pay an A $13.5 million fine. All three telecom operators are said to have admitted in court to making false or misleading statements, saying that nearly 120000 customers had been affected.

According to ACCC, the false hype appeared in 2019 and could continue into 2020, involving the 50Mbps or 100Mbps fiber-to-node package.

Telstra said in a statement that between April 2019 and April 2020, the company failed to fully understand the maximum speed at which 48000 customers ordered NBN services within a reasonable time. It also indicated that a large number of remedial and refund procedures had been initiated and implemented.

Spokesmen for Optus and TPG Telecom respectively said that the two companies had modified their systems and processes and refunded them to eligible customers.