• Starlink missed four quarterly deadlines for lodging required customer complaints data with ACMA.
  • The breaches occurred between October 2023 and July 2024, after Starlink surpassed 30,000 active services.
  • The regulator emphasised the importance of complaints data in monitoring telco compliance and service performance.

Satellite Internet provider Starlink Internet Services Pte. Ltd. has been formally warned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) after repeatedly failing to comply with regulatory requirements for complaints reporting.

An ACMA investigation revealed that Starlink missed four quarterly deadlines between October 2023 and July 2024 for submitting complaints data, a mandatory obligation for telecommunications providers with more than 30,000 active services.

Under the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record-Keeping Rules 2018, telcos exceeding this service threshold are required to submit complaints reports within 30 days following the end of each quarter. The reporting is part of a broader consumer protection framework designed to ensure the effective resolution of service issues.

ACMA investigation reveals missed deadlines for complaints reporting

The ACMA launched the investigation after discovering that Starlink had exceeded the 30,000 active service threshold but had failed to lodge the required reports. While the company eventually submitted the overdue data and cooperated with the regulator, the delays were found to have hindered the ACMA’s ability to monitor complaint trends and industry performance.

Complaints data plays a crucial role in regulatory oversight, helping identify service shortcomings and ensuring that providers meet their obligations to consumers. The ACMA uses these reports to track industry-wide issues and has recently started publishing rankings of telcos based on their complaint-handling performance.

Starlink’s failure to comply was regarded as a breach of its obligations, although no financial penalties were imposed as part of the warning. The ACMA stressed the importance of timely reporting in maintaining transparency and accountability across the telecommunications sector.

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