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AceBreakingNews – Hundreds of thousands of Australians face an extra cost to access emails after one of the country’s largest internet providers announced plans to close down its in-house email service.

The move could force users to sign up for a paid service or risk losing years of archived emails and contact details.

TPG Telecom, which operates service providers TPG, iinet, internode and Westnet said in a statement posted on its website that users would need to opt-in to a new email service operated by a business called The Messaging Company by mid-September.

“TPG has made the decision to stop providing email services. This change will help us focus on creating better experiences for our core products: internet and mobile,” the notice said.

TPG has pledged to pay for 12 months of service when customers transfer to The Messaging Company, but customers will likely be forced to pay for the service from September 2024.

Alternatively, customers will be able to switch to a free email service such as those offered by Google or Microsoft but risk losing years or even decades or archived emails and contacts.

On its website, TPG boasts 5.3 million mobile customers and 2.2 million fixed broadband customers in Australia.

A spokesperson for TPG refused to confirm how many customers would be affected by the change, citing uncertainty over how many people actively use their accounts but pledged to work closely with affected customers.

Changes will hit users’ hip pockets

Sean Tomlinson from Lidcombe in Sydney’s west has used his TPG email for work and to pay bills since 2006.

He said he only found out about the changes to his email arrangements incidentally when he spotted a link on the TPG website.

He labelled the changes unfair, saying he’ll have no choice but to pay whatever fees are charged by his new email provider in order to continue accessing almost two decades’ worth of archived emails.

“It’s not right. I’ve spoken to TPG and they don’t seem to care at all that they’re losing customers over this,” he said.

“It’s my information, it’s my privacy, but I’ve been given no choice. They originally advertised a free service, and now they want to start changing.”

Mr Tomlinson, who has stated a Change.org petition urging TPG to reconsider its decision, said he had already been approached by his concerned mother and landlord, both of whom will be affected by the changes.

“A lot of people are already struggling with cost of living, and now they’re going to be charged for something that used to be free. They [TPG] need to listen,” he said.

Older users risk being left behind

The move by TPG may particularly affect older internet users, or those who don’t speak English.

It follows a decision by Google earlier this year to close down “inactive” accounts that haven’t been used in more than two years.

Closing the accounts would also affect data across related Google products such as Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar and Photos.

In a blog post, Google’s Vice President of Product Management Ruth Kricheli said the decision was related to security, not cost saving.

“These [inactive] accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam,” Ms Kricheli wrote.

A spokesperson for TPG said the company was actively assisting customers to migrate to The Messaging Company by transferring emails, contacts and calendars.

TPG customers will have 42 days’ notice to opt-in to the new service before potentially being cut off from their email service.

Customers who do not “un-suspend” their service before November 30 will permanently lose access to their email accounts.

The Messaging Company would not confirm how much customers would be charged to use their service after September 2024, saying the company hoped to offer a free, advertising-backed service or “competitive” market prices.

FEATURED ABC BUSINESS NEWS REPORT

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