CNT Corp, which provides fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) networking for greenfields estates, has been fined $19,800 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for having inadequate backhaul to deliver advertised broadband speeds.
A statement from the ACCC said that between July last year and April 2012 CNT Corp advertised that it could provide FTTP broadband at up to 100Mbps at a housing estate in Pakenham, Victoria.
"In fact, because of its limited backhaul capacity, CNT Corp’s network could not support data transfer rates above 20 megabits per second for even a single user. As a result, a number of consumers in the estate never received the performance levels they were paying for," an ACCC statement said.
"This is a cautionary tale for the telecommunications industry as it transitions to technologies that are capable of delivering faster broadband services," ACCC chairperson Rod Sims said. "If you make claims about the speed of your services, you must ensure that real-world performance matches what is promised."
CNT Corp was served with three infringement notices. A court enforceable undertaking requires the company to provide additional backhaul for its network at the Eden Brook housing estate in Pakenham, as well as provide affected customers with credit vouchers. In addition, the company will have to implement a program to ensure compliance with trade practices.
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