Telstra
has
entered
a
court-enforceable
undertaking
with
the
Australian
Communications
and
Media
Authority
(ACMA)
after
failing
to
comply
with
its
priority
assistance
obligations.
The
telco’s
carrier
licence
conditions
require
it
to
provide
priority
assistance
–
an
enhanced
level
of
service
–
to
customers
who
have
a
life-threatening
medical
condition.
The
ACMA
said
an
investigation
found
Telstra
did
not
send
“priority
assistance
application
forms
and/or
required
additional
information
on
more
than
260
occasions
to
customers
who
had
made
contact
to
enquire
about
priority
assistance”.
It
also
did
not
initiate
emergency
medical
request
procedures
for
two
customers,
which
can
ensure
a
phone
is
fixed
quickly
or
an
alternative
means
of
contact
is
provided.
“Some
of
these
customers
were
having
problems
with
their
Telstra
fixed
line
service
at
the
same
time
as
dealing
with
significant
medical
issues,”
ACMA
chair
Nerida
O’Loughlin
said
in
a
statement.
“These
are
some
of
Telstra’s
most
vulnerable
customers
and
the
telco
must
have
adequate
systems
in
place
to
make
sure
these
important
obligations
are
always
met.”
Telstra
also
reported
an
additional
740
“other
instances
where
it
was
unable
to
locate
records
of
whether
priority
assistance
paperwork
was
sent,”
the
ACMA
added.
The
telco
will
implement
new
systems
and
increase
monitoring
of
priority
assistance
requests
as
a
result.
About Author
