NBN grievances are up 204 percent

How can you summarize Australia’s fulfillment with the NBN network in 2015? Well, it was the worst of times and it was the worst of times.

The variety of protests about the NBN have leapt a massive 204 percent, according to figures launched today by the Telecommunications IndustryOmbudsman

But according to NBN Co, the network has actually turned a corner and the rate of grievances is in fact down 16 percent.

So what’s the distinction?

The TIO has actually tracked the variety of grievances in the 2nd half of 2017 (July 1 toDec 31) and compared them to the exact same duration the year prior to (July 1 toDec 31, 2016). Year on year, grievances were up 203.9 percent. That consists of grievances about web and phone services provided over the NBN, in addition to about NBN Co itself.

That’s an enormous dive, no matter how you slice it.

But NBN Co is taking a various tack. In a declaration sent in action to the TIO report, the business stated it was “pleased to see a 16 percent decline in the rate of complaints” made to the TIO. But there’s more to that number.

NBN Co is determining the 2nd half of 2017 versus the very first half of that year, for beginners. The TIO determined the 2nd half of 2017 versus the 2nd half of 2016– that is, year on year, not 6-months on 6-months.

NBN likewise states the “rate of complaints, which is the number of complaints as a proportion of the number of active end users on the NBN access network, is softening.”

So as soon as you’re on the network, grievances go way down. But it stands to factor as soon as you’re actively utilizing the NBN things must be relatively rosy. It’s the opposite of the coin that’s the issue.

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The company also says that, of the 22,827 complaints to the TIO about services delivered over the NBN, “less than five percent (1052 complaints) were sent to NBN Co to resolve.”

NBN Co has been at pains to point out that it’s not always responsible for problems Australians experience with the NBN as a whole. It could come down to problems with the telcos who use the NBN’s network to deliver services or even problems in an individual customer’s home or workplace. 

NBN Co responded to the TIO report by pointing to the steps it took in the back end of 2017 to improve customer experience on the network, which explains its eagerness to compare the two halves of 2017 rather than comparing year on year. These steps include changing wholesale pricing to encourage telcos to increase bandwidth (and therefore reduce congestion), discounting its 50Mbps speed tier (to encourage users to take up higher speeds) and pausing the HFC rollout to address service issues.

Speaking about the TIO report, NBN Co chief customer officer Brad Whitcomb was focused on that “rate of complaints” figure, saying the slowdown was “encouraging.” However he added that “NBN Co acknowledges there is still more work to be done.”

And that’s where the 203.9 percent increase comes in. On this front, NBN Co was only willing to shoulder some of the blame. 

“We acknowledge that the increase in complaints to the TIO about services delivered over the NBN access network demonstrates the necessity and importance of an industry-wide effort to ensure improved customer experiences as we reach the peak years of the build,” a company spokesperson told CNET. 

But a 200 percent increase in complaints isn’t a good look, no matter how you slice it. Even if telcos are to blame for issues, NBN Co still faces a PR battle to convince Australians that it’s delivering the best network it can within the Government’s low-cost, copper-inclusive remit.

For plenty of Australians, talking about internet and phone problems quickly descends into a discussion about the problems with the NBN — whether NBN Co is to blame or not. 

Whether people are disgruntled because of poor service from their telco, from NBN Co or they just want to air their grievances about one of Australia’s most heavily politicised infrastructure projects, NBN Co’s real task will be convincing Australians that things are improving. Without being selective over the numbers. 

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