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Complaints against the troubled broadband network have risen yet again with the latest Telecommunications Ombudsman’s Report, released this week, showing significant increases in complaints over the last year.

As the government prepares to sell the NBN, levels of dissatisfaction against what critics describe as the worst infrastructure project in Australian history are extremely high.  The disastrous state of the nation’s telecommunications networks is generating not just anger and frustration but significant financial losses.  In overall terms, residential complaints rose to a record 146,957, an increase of 8,141, or 5.9%.  Business complaints rose 8.7% to 20,433, an increase of 1.644.

The devastating impacts on business of the botched NBN roll out are clear: 16.2% complained of no service at all. A further 13.9% complained of intermittent service, dropouts and slow speeds.  There were more than 12,200 compensation payouts last year for both residents and businesses.  The maximum payout is $50,000.

The Wizard of Oz