Labor welcomes the announcement that the ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from NBN Co to improve wholesale service levels.

This step will improve outcomes on fault rectification timeframes, installations and missed appointments.

Currently people living in Regional Australia often find themselves in a seemingly endless game of ping pong between their service provider and NBNCo when issues arise.

Figures from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) show NBN complaints surged by 204 per cent during the 2017 calendar year.

The development serves as a stinging rebuff to Mitch Fifield and his opposition to improving service standards, and vindicates the policy direction established by Labors NBN Service Guarantee.

For the past twelve months Labor and the ACCC have led the discussion on wholesale service levels, with broad support from industry and consumer groups.

The ACCC should be congratulated for progressing this issue, given the reversal by NBNCo only occurred after the ACCC presented the company with an interim determination.

This outcome is a sensible first step towards delivering better outcomes for consumers.

Labor will build on this positive development and remains committed to establishing an NBN Service Guarantee that also strengthens protections for small business, and safeguards against excessive downtime.