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Posts Tagged ‘ACMA’

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman today released its annual report, which highlighted a spike in the number of complaints received, with mobile phone services leading the rise in complaints.

Of particular note there was a 26 per cent increase in disputes about internet charges on a mobile service.

According to the Report:

The TIO received a record number of new complaints in 2010-11, 197,682 or a substantial 17.8 per cent increase compared to the previous year, reversing the 4.6 per cent decrease in new complaints we reported in 2009-10.

The issue with the largest increase in mobile phone complaints was faults, with 56,475 issues raised or a 180.7 per cent increase from the previous year. The two most common complaints in this area include poor coverage (28,634 issues or a 609.6 per cent increase) and dropouts
(6,941 issues or a 482.8 per cent increase).

The TIO figures have been controversial in the past, with critics claiming that the TIO double and triple counts complaints, which results in the high headline number of complaints.

The TIO data will not doubt be seized on my the ACMA, who is looking at reform of the Telco industry following the release of its Reconnecting the Customer report.

Tags: ACMA, ISP Lawyers, telco lawyer, telecommunications law, telecommunications lawyer, TIO
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law, IT Law | Comments Off

Retail internet and voice service providers are about to see the next wave of regulation from the Australian Government. This time, it is the Australian Communications and Media Authority (‘ACMA’) that is driving the changes.

ACMA is demanding a series of major changes to advertising and sales practices, as well as billing and complaint handling.

It is allowing the industry a short time to adopt the changes ‘voluntarily’ via an updated Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code.  If that does not happen, it will enforce its requirements using its own powers.

Quoting ACMA:

The ACMA is giving industry five months in which to develop a revised code dealing with the matters that it considers must be changed. If those changes cannot be made within that time, the ACMA will intervene directly to implement its proposals by way of a standard.

Unless the industry adopts the ‘proposals’ in its Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code (‘TCP Code’) , ACMA will mandate them.  Chris Chapman has now been reported as saying:

“The industry [is] ‘formally on notice’ to reflect the proposed changes in the new TCP code.  If the industry doesn’t develop a code that addresses ACMA’s concerns, the ACMA will mandate changes through direct regulation.”

ACMA’s new ‘proposed’ rules

1. Make telco advertising ‘clear, accurate and honest’
2. Ban certain ‘confusing’ terms, eg ‘cap’ (where it in fact means ‘minimum spend’)
3. Require that network coverage claims can be substantiated
4. Require that broadband speed claims can be substantiated
5. For post-paid plans with minimum monthly spend, all text-based advertising and bills to include ‘unit pricing’ (like supermarkets do)
6. Give prospects a standard form ‘critical information summary’
7. Require providers to report customer service performance using a new standard industry metric, for publication
8. Require providers to report complaint handling performance using a new standard industry metric, for publication
9. Optional:   Providers to adopt ‘Customer Service Charters’
10. Unless service hard-capped or shaped, notify customer at certain usage points
11. Until spend management tools in place, cap total cost at 150% of minimum spend
12. All bills to show service usage (eg as graph) broken into components
13. Providers to comply with AS ISO 10002-2006 re definition of ‘complaint’
14. Providers to comply with AS ISO 10002-2006 re complaint-handling visibility, accessibility, responsiveness, objectivity, charging, confidentiality, being customer-focused, accountability and continuous improvement
15. Providers to adopt benchmarks re timeliness in handling complaints; documenting procedures; and collecting, analysing and reporting complaints information

Comment

Initially, it will be up to the industry (through Communications Alliance) to redesign its TCP Code to satisfy ACMA.  If that fails, a mandatory new industry standard is inevitable.

What should service providers be doing now?

First, it is important to realise that the main points are all locked in – as far as ACMA is concerned.  Consultation on the changes is finished. There is room to refine the details, but the headline elements listed above are not negotiable for ACMA.

Second, you should consider whether you want to engage with Communications Alliance about any changes to the TCP Code.  These changes will affect you and your sales and delivery processes.  If you want to influence the TCP Code process, you’ll need to be prepared.  There are only five months left for Communications Alliance to produce a document that satisfies ACMA.

Third, you should start to think about how your business will comply with requirements along the lines of those outlined above.  What will your marketing / sales / delivery / complaints handling look like in 2012?  Will you be well positioned to prosper in the new environment?  How?

Tags: ACMA, IT Lawyers, technology lawyers, Telco Lawyers, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law, IT Law | Comments Off

The Australian Communications and Media Authority foreshadows changes to telemarketing rules contained in the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2007.

Some of the proposed changes include:

1. Revising Saturday calling times;
2. Information provision;
3. Additional CLI Information;

For more detail on the proposed changes, you can download the Cooper Mills Bulletin here.

 

 

Tags: ACMA, Do Not Call Register, IT Law, technology law, Telco Law, telecommunications law, telecommunications lawyer
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law | Comments Off

The Australian Communications and Media Authority today foreshadowed six telco / ISP action areas it intends to address. While the six areas are described as ‘proposals’, ACMA is making it very clear that they will become law.

ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman is reported in today’s Age Online as follows:
Telcos will be given time to implement ACMA’s recommendations in their own self-regulatory industry codes but if they do not do so in a satisfactory way ACMA said it would force them to do so with new regulations.
“The outcomes that we are seeking … are non-negotiable,” Mr Chapman said. There will be a six-week consultation period after which ACMA expects the industry to begin implementing its recommendations.
“The die is cast, we’ve put it all out there in the report, the ‘guidance’ has been provided … the clock is ticking,” he said.

You can read more about in the Cooper Mills Telecommunications Law Bulletin.

Tags: ACMA, Chris Chapman, ISP, isp law, IT Law, Telco, Telco Lawyers, Telecom Lawyers, Telecommunications Lawyers
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law, IT Law | Comments Off

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has launched an issues paper, to examine whether the numbering plan and the way telephone numbers are used remain appropriate.

The increasing use of voice over IP (VOIP) and mobile telephones have forced a rethink on telephone numbering.

In announcing the launch of the issues paper, the ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman said:

While the existing Numbering Plan has served Australia extremely well, it is now starting to fray around the edges. Many of its features date back well over ten years, during which time there has been tremendous change in the telecommunications and broadband market.

The ACMA has called for comments on the issues paper by 3 December 2010.

The issues paper is available from the ACMA website here.

Tags: ACMA, Telecommunications Lawyers, VOIP
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law, IT Law, Uncategorized | Comments Off

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued the first round of licences for additional spectrum for mobile telecommunications services at hundreds of sites throughout remote and regional Australia.

In the first round, Optus was successful in securing licences for 972 sites.

The ACMA received applications in response to an invitation for interested parties to apply for radiocommunications licences in the 2 Ghz band during May 2010. The 2 GHz band is used by mobile carriers to provide 3G mobile services.

In announcing the award of licences ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman said:

I am delighted by the high level of demand from industry for additional spectrum in the 2 GHz band in regional and remote Australia.

It is expected that a second round of licensing will take place following an assessment of Telstra’s application for multiple sites.

The ACMA expect that this process will lead to a significant increase in the availability of 3G mobile phone services in regional and remote Australia, based on the number of sites applied for by Optus and Telstra.

Tags: ACMA, ISP lawyer, Spectrum Licensing, Telco Law, telco lawyer, telecommunications law, telecommunications lawyer
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law | Comments Off

Consumers will have the choice of barring all premium SMS from their mobile phones as of 1 July 2010, with the latest package of measures announced by the ACMA.

The ACMA has said that the package has been created so that “…mobile users can feel confident they will only receive and pay for services they actually want”.

In a meeting with senior representatives of mobile phone companies the ACMA will discuss the possibility of the introduction of a service where consumers can request quick and easy barring via SMS.

Complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman regarding premium SMS services have decreased by an astonishing rate of 50% following measures introduced by ACMA last year. As the ACMA is hoping that this trend will continue, it will be closely monitoring the industry over the next 12 months to ensure that consumer concerns are adequately being dealt with.

Recent enforceable undertakings that the ACMA has accepted from Funmobile Australia Pty Limited, which included a payment of $55 000, emphasize the ACMA’s commitment to pursuing telcos which repeatedly operate in breach of the law.

Industry has welcomed the new package as a further reinforcement of the existing suite of consumer protection measures included in the Communications Alliance Mobile Premium Services Industry Code C637:2009.

Despite both consumers and industry receiving the package with a warm welcome, the telcos will be hit hard. In a quote published by Computer World, Warren Chaisatien, research director and principle analyst at Telstyle, says that although the rule will aid consumers who have unintentionally signed up to a premium services, it is likely to have a negative impact on telco revenues as the premium SMS market was worth approximately $250 million in 2009.

Tags: ACMA, isp law, ISP Lawyers, Premium SMS, telco lawyer, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers, telo lawyers
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law, Trade Practices Law, Uncategorized | Comments Off

In a landmark move, the ACMA has for the first time brought an action in the Federal Court  against Telco GoTalk for an alleged breaches of the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.

The ACMA alleges that GoTalk via its two offshore calls centres called 40,000 numbers contained on the Do Not Call Register.

Breaches of this kind have proven to be costly for infringing companies in the past, with Dodo Australia being issued a fine of $147 400 in 2008 for its call centres ringing 67 de-listed Australian phone numbers.

This isn’t the first sign of trouble for GoTalk. Last year the company accepted undertakings by the ACCC to record telemarketing calls and to monitor conversations at random to ensure compliance with the TPA, in response to allegations that its offshore call centres had misrepresented information to consumers, including pricing and terms and conditions.

The matter is listed for directions on 29 March 2010 in the Federal Court in Sydney.

Tags: ACMA, Do Not Call Register, Do Not Register Call Act, GoTalk, ISP lawyer, ISP Lawyers, IT Lawyers, telecommunications lawyer, Telecommunications Lawyers
Posted in General, ISP and Telco Law, Spam, Uncategorized | Comments Off

The Federal Court has issued a fine of $15.75 Million against spammers found guilty of using an elaborate scheme to deceptively obtain mobile phone numbers and spam them.

In August 2009 the Australian Communications and Media Authority (‘ACMA’) obtained default judgment against Mobilegate Ltd and Winning Bid Pty Ltd – and three individuals – Mr Simon Anthony Owen, Mr Tarek Andreas Salcedo and Mr Glenn Christopher Maughan.

The action commenced in late 2008 when the ACMA learned of the highly organised plan, where the ACMA alleges the spammers obtained mobile telephone numbers from dating websites, after posing as members of these websites. It is then alleged that:

• after the numbers were obtained, unsolicited messages were sent to the mobile phone numbers offering the opportunity to chat via SMS using services described as the ‘Safe Divert’ or ‘Maybemeet’ services;
• the chat was not offered by genuine members of dating websites but employees of Mobilegate and Winning Bid;
• consumers were charged up to five dollars per message; and
• when users questioned whether the messages were from a real person, they were told that it was a real person who was using the “Safe Divert” service to keep their mobile phone number private.

The ACMA claims that the spammers obtained more than $2 million from their scheme, which was in contravention of the Spam Act 2003.

The judgment is seen as a win for the ACMA in its fight against breaches of the Spam Act 2003, and is sure to serve as a serious warning to potential spammers.

Earlier this year the ACMA issued fines against Optus for breaches of the Spam Act 2003, as part of its campaign against spammers.

Tags: ACMA, Cooper Mills Lawyers, IT Lawyers, Spam, Spam Act 2003, Spam Lawyers, Telecommunications Lawyers
Posted in General, Spam | Comments Off

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has obtained an enforceable undertaking from MYOB Australia E1 Pty Ltd for breaches of the Spam Act 2003.

Following an investigation by the ACMA, a SmartyHost, division of MYOB was found to have been sending emails to people who had unsubscribed from its mailing lists. The ACMA found that SmartyHost had not actioned the unsubscribe requests.

Chris Chapman, Chairman of the ACMA said:

The Spam Act makes it clear that commercial electronic messages cannot be sent without the consent of the recipient….. As such it is central to the working of the scheme that recipients of such messages have the right to withdraw their consent at any time.

s18 of the Spam Act 2003 makes it a specific requirement that commercial electronic messages must have an unsubscribe facility (that works!) which must remain active for at least 30 days after the message is sent.

The ACMA’s action is consistent with its recent get tough approach to enforcement of Spam and the Do Not Call Register

Tags: ACMA, IT Lawyer, Spam Act 2003, Telecommunication Lawyers
Posted in Spam | Comments Off