• About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Events
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Newsletter
SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Contracts awarded
    • Open tenders and opportunities
    • Events
  • Features
  • Water
  • Wastewater
  • Gas
  • Electricity
  • Civil Construction
  • Events
No Results
View All Results
  • News
    • Contracts awarded
    • Open tenders and opportunities
    • Events
  • Features
  • Water
  • Wastewater
  • Gas
  • Electricity
  • Civil Construction
  • Events
No Results
View All Results
Home

Broadband performance monitoring trial complete

by Utility Journalist
September 22, 2015
in News, Telecommunications
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The  Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has found that a program to monitor and report to consumers on the quality of broadband services could be readily established in Australia.

“The ACCC believes a broadband performance monitoring and reporting program would promote competition and consumer outcomes by providing transparency over the quality of broadband services,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

“As the NBN rollout progresses, providing transparency over the performance of the monopoly network provider will be particularly important as retail service providers (RSPs) will be dependent on NBN Co for the underlying network capability. In this regard, visibility over any network-based performance issues would help identify whether any bottleneck issues in the network are attributable to RSPs or the network provider.”

“In addition, it is also important for consumers to have information about how different broadband products perform when choosing the option that’s best for them,” Mr Sims said.

“A broadband performance monitoring and reporting program can be designed to increase the available information about service performance, and thereby encourage RSPs to compete on the basis of service quality, not simply price.”

The ACCC’s Pilot Broadband Performance Monitoring and Reporting Program involved testing approximately 90 Melbourne-based volunteers’ home fixed-line broadband connections on various technologies over a three-month period. The Pilot Program was carried out by SamKnows, who operate similar broadband performance monitoring programs internationally, and Comdate.

Volunteers installed a hardware probe on their home connection and the probe ran a series of network performance tests. The metrics selected for testing included download/upload speeds, web browsing time, latency, packet loss, video streaming, jitter and DNS resolution. A range of results were observed against these metrics, with a noticeable trend in deteriorating performance during peak use periods, particularly in relation to download speeds.

“The ACCC is greatly encouraged by the results of the Pilot Program; however a decision to proceed with a future program has not been made and any finalised program would involve further stakeholder consultation,” Mr Sims said.

“Similar broadband monitoring programs have been established in the United Kingdom (2008), United States of America (2010), Singapore (2011), and more recently, Canada. Such programs have led to improved transparency of information and increased performance-based competition for broadband services.”

See: The ACCC’s report on the findings of the Pilot Program.

Related Posts

Image: Barwon Water

Barwon Water on the road to net zero

by Katie Livingston
June 17, 2025

Barwon Water has hit the road with Victoria’s first hydrogen-powered prime mover, as part of a wider plan to cut...

Image: Melbourne Water

Desalination to support Melbourne’s water supply

by Katie Livingston
June 17, 2025

Following prolonged dry conditions, 50GL of desalinated water is set to flow into Melbourne Water’s system to safeguard the city’s...

CSE25 will bring together professionals across disciplines to share practical strategies for adaptation and mitigation. Image: Engineers Australia

CSE25: Climate action meets engineering reality

by Sarah MacNamara
June 17, 2025

The climate reality is all around us – and engineers are responding with resilience and tackling it head-on. Through determined...

Read our magazine

Join our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.
Utility is the title of choice for decision makers at all levels of water and energy utilities, as well as other major players like consulting engineers and first-tier contractors. Utility is integrated across print and online, and explores the biggest news and issues across the utility industry. It is Australia’s only dedicated utility magazine, and covers all areas of the utility sector, including water and sewer, gas, electricity, communications and the NBN.

Subscribe to our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.

About Utility

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Digital magazine
  • Events
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Collection Notice
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Topics

  • News
  • Water
  • Electricity
  • Projects
  • Water and Wastewater Treatment
  • Spotlight
  • Civil Construction
  • Renewable Energy

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited

No Results
View All Results
NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Contracts awarded
    • Open tenders and opportunities
    • Events
  • Features
  • Water
  • Wastewater
  • Gas
  • Electricity
  • Civil Construction
  • Events
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited