Under its remedial direction the ACMA said Optus was required to commission an independent audit of its compliance systems. It also has to improve its systems and governance to ensure future compliance. As does TPG.
The ACMA issued Telstra with similar remedial direction in June last year.
Optus has issued more than $4.4 million in refunds to customers who did not receive the service they paid for.Credit:
The Herald recently reported on how Telstra outages in January left more than 600 residents in Kundabung, about 400 kilometres north of Sydney, without phone and internet services. Mel Robinson was among residents forced to stand near a window, or in the sheep paddock near her house, trying to a get “one bar of service” on her mobile phone to send a text message.
Ms O’Loughlin said the scale of service failure by the three telcos has been significant. “Our actions will ensure the top three telcos are more vigilant delivering the internet service their customers expect and have paid for,” she said.
The ACMA said it can launch legal proceedings in the Federal Court if Optus fails to meet the requirements of its remedial direction or if TPG fails to comply with its enforceable undertaking.
The ACMA said that Optus has said it has contacted customers covered by the decision and offered to remedy the situation and provide more than $4.4 million in refunds.
TPG said it had refunded more than $2.1 million to customers from late last year.
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