Starlink formally warned over complaint record-keeping ‘failure’

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued a formal warning to Starlink for not complying with telco industry rules related to complaints record-keeping.

An investigation by the ACMA found Starlink did not provide quarterly complaints reports to the Authority within the prescribed 30-day window in four instances from October 2023 to July 2024, as required per the Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record-Keeping Rules 2018.

“The ACMA monitors telco complaints data to ensure telcos are meeting their obligations towards customers and as a means of tracking where improvements may be needed,” ACMA member Samantha Yorke said.

“This data helps us understand current issues facing Australian consumers and identify complaint trends across industry.

“Starlink’s failure to submit the required complaints reports in a timely way hampered the ACMA in its role of monitoring whether Starlink is meeting its obligations towards consumers.”

The ACMA started its investigation back in August 2024 when it was alerted to Starlink’s active services surpassed 30,000, which, essentially, is the minimum number of accounts needed for a retail carriage service provider to be required to pass on its complaints records to the Authority.

According to the investigation documents from the ACMA, the Authority wrote to Starlink in August 2024 and October 2024 about its requirements under the record-keeping rules after media reports identified in March that year that it had over 200,000 customers.

Then, on 30 October, 13 November and 28 November of that year, Starlink gave the ACMA a complaints report for just the September 2024 period. Weeks later on 17 December, the Authority gave Starlink a notice to provide it with the number of services in operation for the four previous reporting periods.

While the public report redacts the specific figures, this was enough for the ACMA to investigate and determine that Starlink needed to fill in the gaps with reports for the September 2023, December 2023, March 2024 and June 2024 quarters.

Starlink has complied with that request and ACMA noted it was cooperative in the investigation.

The investigation into the company’s complain procedures comes months after a number of satellite experts raised concerns with ARN into the risks associated with Starlink’s low earth orbit satellite (LEO) technology.