Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6518
    -0.0017 (-0.26%)
     
  • OIL

    83.11
    -0.06 (-0.07%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,254.80
    +16.40 (+0.73%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    108,772.81
    +2,348.51 (+2.21%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • AUD/EUR

    0.6038
    +0.0007 (+0.12%)
     
  • AUD/NZD

    1.0903
    +0.0023 (+0.21%)
     
  • NZX 50

    12,105.29
    +94.63 (+0.79%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    18,254.69
    -26.15 (-0.14%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Dow Jones

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • DAX

    18,492.49
    +15.40 (+0.08%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Telstra, Optus: Australia’s 10 worst telcos revealed

Telstra, the biggest Australian telco, logo on the wall of a store.
Aussie telcos have been making improvements but complaints are still flooding in. (Source: Getty)

Complaints against Aussie telcos fell 33.4 per cent in the past financial year, but a whopping 79,534 complaints were still made, according to the ombudsman.

A new report from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) revealed gripes about connection delays, failure to cancel services and billing issues had improved compared to the previous year, with the number of complaints dropping by more than 40 per cent.

Complaints about a telco being uncontactable also fell considerably, and was no longer considered a major issue for customers, the report said.

ADVERTISEMENT

However, problems with poor mobile coverage were in the top 10 issues in all states and territories except for the Australian Capital Territory.

Some providers saw significant improvements in complaint numbers in 2021-22.

The number of complaints about Telstra fell 43.7 per cent this year, and complaints about Southern Phone dropped 47 per cent.

Complaints increased for Aussie Broadband, Dodo and Medion (offering products and services under the brand ALDImobile).

TIO ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said it was pleasing to see a significant decrease in complaints this year.

“Telcos have done well to work with consumers in resolving most problems before they come to us,” Gebert said.

“Our data shows that in the last financial year, as the pandemic cooled down, fewer premises were connected to the NBN network and industry improvements were made, internet complaints decreased significantly.

“But we didn’t see the same improvements in mobile services, and the number of people who complained to us about poor mobile coverage increased.”

Gebert said mobile services were essential and people’s lives could be disrupted from poor service.

“While we’ve seen some great improvements, Australia’s telcos need to do more to resolve complaints about mobile services, including poor mobile coverage, before consumers come to my office for help,” she said.

Top 10 worst telcos

Here are the worst Aussie telcos listed by number of complaints.

It should be noted that Telstra has the most customers in Australia, with around 18.8 million Aussies signed up with the telco. Optus has around 10.2 million.

Telco

Number of complaints

Change from last year

Telstra

41,741

-43.7%

Optus

15,708

-16.9%

Vodafone Australia

4,836

-14.7%

TPG Group

3,224

-17.6%

iiNet

2,197

-25%

Aussie Broadband

1,133

8.2%

Dodo Services

1,128

6.2%

Southern Phone Company

828

-47.0%

Boost Tel

727

-24.6%

Medion Australia

572

31.8%

Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to the free Fully Briefed daily newsletter.