The ACCC's Rod Sims says people were paying more to get higher NBN speeds that they just weren't able to get. Credit:AAP Everyone appreciates large numbers of Australians are unhappy with their NBN service, but allocating fault has been difficult and confusing thanks to excessive finger pointing by all parties. The reality is that all share a portion of the blame. First is the federal government for choosing cheaper and inferior technology in fibre-to-the-node. Next, the NBN has to take blame for the poor execution in connecting customers and the retail sellers who have not bought enough capacity from the NBN to deliver their customers the services they advertised. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which doesn't have a vested interest, provides a clearer view. It has been attempting to ensure that consumers get the service they have been paying for and that retailers are honestly advertising the speeds being delivered. The ACCC has found that around 50 per cent of customers that are using the NBN's most common broadband delivery technology, fibre-to-the-node, and want the two highest speed rates simply can't get them.

It has been putting pressure on retailers to address both the advertising and to redress those customers that were effectively misled. Telstra was the first out of the gate. It's the largest NBN reseller and a massive 56 per cent of its customers on the top speed (100 megabits) can't get those speeds in real world conditions if they are connected via fibre-to-the-node. And 20 per cent of those on the top plan can't even get 50 megabits. On the next speed tier down (50 megabits) 45 per cent can't get the speeds they paid for. But those customers lucky enough to receive fibre to the building have a different experience. Only 10 per cent of those on the 100 megabit tier packages can't get those speeds in real world conditions and 6 per cent of those on the 50 megabit tier. It's not great but it demonstrates the clear divide between those with fibre to the premises/building and those households with the second-class technology of fibre-to-the-node.

Telstra has now undertaken to remedy 42,000 customers who couldn't get the speeds from packages sold to them. They either get their money back, change their speeds or cancel their contracts without paying a fee. "In essence, people were paying more to get higher speeds that they just weren't able to get," explained ACCC chairman Rod Sims. Telstra admits that by this conduct it was likely to have contravened the Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct and making false or misleading representations, the ACCC said in a statement. You would expect the other retail NBN resellers to fall into line or face being taken to court by the consumer regulator. Once this is ironed out we will get a clearer view of the extent to which the customer complaints about their NBN service are the result of telco retailers simply not buying enough capacity.