Australia’s three largest internet service providers fined for false statements about broadband speed

Australia’s Federal Court fined Telstra, Optus, and TPG AUD$33.5 million for breaching Australian Consumer Law.

The Australian Federal Court fined Telstra Corporation Ltd (Telstra), Optus Internet Pty Limited (Optus), and TPG Internet Pty Ltd (TPG) a total of AUD$33.5 million for making false or misleading representations to consumers about certain internet plans under Australia’s national broadband network (NBN).

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) headed the procedure. The court concluded the internet service providers breached the Australian Consumer Law by making false or misleading statements related to their 50Mbps or 100Mbps fibre to the node (FTTN) plans.

Telstra, Optus, and TPG admitted their false conduct to consumers and collaborated with the ACCC, making joint submissions to the court. The false or misleading statements affected about 120,000 consumers in 2019 and 2020.