Follow these handy tips when choosing and managing telco products and services for your business.
Telco products and services are more important than ever for businesses. Consider these tips for getting the most out of your connection and manage issues:
- Find out what services are available at your business address. There may be fewer options in rural and remote areas. NBN Co and mobile providers publish tools that allow you to check what is available.
- Think about how you will use your service to decide what features are important to you. You may want to use business grade services, which offer dedicated business support teams and faster fault repair.
- Remember to shop around as plans and prices can vary significantly. You can see how telcos perform by looking at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Measuring Broadband performance reports, or Communications Alliance Complaints in Context reports.
- Plan what you will do in case of faults or outages and consider having backup services. Take reasonable steps to protect your business from loss.
- Talk to your telco provider as soon as possible if you have a problem with your service. If you cannot resolve the issue with your provider, contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).
- If you are experiencing financial hardship, contact your telco provider for help. Telcos have made commitments about providing hardship assistance. They also have obligations under the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code.
For more tips see our fact sheet: Telco tips for small businesses.