Connected to mayhem

AUSTRALIAN broadband services are in disarray, with complaints about internet access skyrocketing 64 per cent this year – outnumbering mobile phone gripes for the first time.

Grievances with the NBN fuelled the surge, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman revealed, though complaints across the communications industry surged by more than 40 per cent compared to last year.

Australians lodged more than 158,000 complaints – up from almost 112,000 last year – including 64,892 about internet services alone.