South-East Queenslanders are venting about their internet and phone providers, leading a more than 40 percent increase in complaints about no service to the industry Ombudsman.
Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) Cynthia Gebert said new data showed a surge between October and December, last year, with residential consumers and small businesses making 15,297 complaints, a 13 percent increase compared to the previous quarter and a 5.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Ms Gebert said the largest increase was complaints about no phone or internet service which increased by 44.1 percent, from the previous quarter.
She said Local Government Areas with the highest number of complaints were Brisbane, Gold Coast, Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast, which made up almost 10 percent of all complaints across the country. Brisbane itself represented almost four percent of all complaints.
“We have seen an increase in consumers reaching out who are frustrated with their telcos.
“Everyone should have access to the service they’re promised, yet we are seeing an increase in persistent challenges with patchy service and dropouts, and no phone or internet service.”
Ms Gebert said there was a 21.1 percent increase in complaints about intermittent service or dropouts and a 23.2 percent jump in complaints about mobile services.
She said the impact of the 3G network shutdown resulted in 190 complaints in October, increasing to 566 in November, before dropping in December.
“The majority of 3G shutdown complaints were about problems with reliability of mobile services.
“It is encouraging to see the drop-off in 3G shutdown complaints in December, yet we are continuing to hear from people in rural and regional Victoria who are facing ongoing challenges.”
Download: TIO Q2 2024-25 Data Insights
