Telstra admits thousands of NBN users were shafted on speeds

Telstra has admitted that thousands of its NBN customers were sold broadband plans with speeds that weren't achievable.

In a blog post late yesterday, Telstra retail boss Kevin Russell revealed around 1 percent of the telco's NBN customer base weren't receiving the speeds they signed up for.

Telstra reported an NBN customer base of 792,000 in its most recent financial results, meaning potentially almost 8000 of its NBN users have been oversold on speeds.

“[W]e’re in the process of proactively contacting those customers to move them to a speed tier their nbn service supports,” Russell said on the telco’s Exchange blog

“In any cases where we believe that customers may have paid for a speed boost they haven’t benefited from, we’ll be reimbursing the charges.”

He argued that the precise speeds a user would receive could not be properly determined until after connection due to various factors.

“Therefore, in the first month after a customer takes up a speed boost we will also review their speeds and proactively contact them if we believe that they are not receiving the speeds they signed up for," he said.

Impacted customers will be moved into a more appropriate speed tier, Russell said, and receive a refund for any charges they incurred for their "speed boost".

Telstra has launched an online guide to help customers understand the factors that can influence NBN speeds, like access technology, CVC, and a customer's own network set up.

Russell said Telstra was “actively participating" in conversations on NBN speeds guidance with the ACCC, which received $7 million in the recent federal budget to conduct a broadband monitoring program.

The program focuses on fixed-line services delivered over the NBN and is intended to make sure customers receive what they are paying for.