Consumers already under stress from rising prices are about to face another double whammy from two of our biggest companies.

Fixed broadband connections have more than doubled in the last five years, to reach 61pc of households, new research has revealed.

The recent flurry of gosh-how-shocking stories about female consumption of pornography is emblematic.

Telecom has been hit with a $12m penalty, the highest imposed under the Commerce Act, for anti-competitive conduct dating back to 2001. The High Court found that from 2001 to 2004 Telecom unlawfully charged disproportionately high prices

Some new homes built in areas marketed as "fibre ready" do not have the wiring to support ultra-fast broadband, says an industry standards group.

Telecom executives' salaries are 'unacceptably high', says a shareholders group. 'They are blaming everyone but themselves for the company's faltering financial position', the group claims.