Australia’s competition regulator said Friday that three Australian telecommunications companies have been ordered to pay fines totaling A$33.5 million ($22.08 million) for misleadingly advertising some Internet speeds on the National Broadband Network (NBN), according to foreign media reports.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the Federal Court of Australia has ordered Telstra to pay a $15 million fine, a subsidiary of TPG Telecom to pay a $5 million fine and Optus to pay a $13.5 million fine. All three telecom operators have allegedly admitted in court to making false or misleading statements that affected nearly 120,000 customers.
According to the ACCC, false advertising emerged in 2019 and could continue into 2020 in relation to 50Mbps or 100Mbps fiber-to-the-node package plans.
In a statement, Telstra said it failed to fully understand the maximum speed of NBN services for 48,000 subscribed customers within a reasonable time between April 2019 and April 2020. It also said it has initiated and implemented extensive remediation and refund procedures.
Spokespersons for Optus and TPG Telecom each said the companies have made changes to their systems and processes, and both have re-issued refunds to eligible customers.
