ACMA seeks input on DNCR Best Practice Guidelines
ACMA is seeking public comment on proposed DNCR Act Best Practice Guidelines for complying with the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.
We’ve previously poked ACMA’s eye about keeping its thoughts to itself too much, so it’s great to see a move towards a thorough, straight-talking booklet that offers detailed guidance on the regulator’s experience and how it sees things.
“The draft guidelines have been drawn from consultation with telemarketers who have implemented thorough and effective compliance systems, as well as experience gained through ACMA investigations into non-compliance. Put simply, ACMA has looked to industry for what does work, and has observed through its investigations what doesn’t work.”
We’ll certainly be reviewing the draft carefully and making a few suggestions.
Comments and queries can be directed to robert(dot)urquhart(at)acma(dot)gov(dot)au. Close date for comments is Friday 13 February 2009.
TPG does it (wrong) again
Just a few weeks after TPG featured a plainly unlawful advertisement on its home page – which it thankfully later corrected – the company has committed another consumer protection faux pas.
This time the problem is the way that two advertisements with plenty of small print cycle every three seconds, making it nearly impossible to read anything but the headlines.
We think it’s a clear breach of clause 4.1.3 of the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code.
ACMA moves on VoIP’s widespread Numbering Plan non-compliance
It’s simple. The Telecommunications Numbering Plan says that you must not allocate a standard telephone number to a VoIP service that can be simply relocated by the customer.
And you mustn’t allocate a standard telephone number to a service that doesn’t terminate in the local area the number is intended for.
It’s also simple for customers to bypass both rules, since the majority of VoIP providers couldn’t care less about breaking them.
A new ACMA discussion paper suggests that enforcement action may be on the way.
Internet Filtering: A contradiction
Despite mounting pressure from the Telco / ISP industry, the Federal Government is pushing forward with its intended internet filtering trials.
The Communications Minister Senator Conroy has recently called for ISPs to volunteer for internet filtering trials, that may lead to eventual universal ISP level internet filtering across Australia. The Government claims that the ISP level filtering will alleviate the evils of the internet, including child pornography.
Mythbuster: Communications Alliance Codes aren’t ‘the law’
There’s a myth around that industry codes, formerly known as ACIF Codes but these days generated by the Communications Alliance, are merely voluntary. They are not ‘the law’.
This myth is based on a misunderstanding of the process behind codes and the reasoning behind the process.
Communications Alliance Codes sure aren’t just voluntary.
The confusion arises because the Telecommunications Act tries not to be heavy-handed on this topic. But there’s a gloved hand not far away.
Mythbuster: A CSP can’t cut service just because a payment is late
A surprising number of people, both service providers and consumers, believe that an overdue payment entitles a CSP to suspend or terminate service.
For consumer and small business contracts, that simply isn’t true. If there’s nothing more to it, the credit management rules in the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code preclude a CSP from immediate action.
Not much commentary required on this one … we’ll let the TCP Code speak for itself.
Mythbuster: A CSP can’t change its contract instantly
Many ISP and telco contracts contain a term to the effect that the service provider can change the contract at will. It’s normally followed up by something like ‘so you must check this T&C page frequently.’
The truth: In consumer and small business contracts, this kind of term isn’t permitted.
Aussie Spam Act applied to US SMS marketing outfit
Did you know that SMS-based marketing is subject to Australia’s Spam Act ?
Or that the Australian law can also apply to offshore marketers ?
mBlox, which describes itself as ‘the world’s largest mobile transaction network’ now knows it, following an $11,000 ACMA penalty.
Dodo stung hard for DNCR Act breaches
This week’s record fine for breaches of the Do Not Call Register Act does more than sting national ISP Dodo, the unhappy record holder.
It ends an information drought for Australian businesses that use contract call centres for telemarketing.
As a regular contributor to the coffers of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, Dodo is no stranger to regulatory imposts. But the speed at which big Do Not Call fines can accumulate should alarm even the most blasé operator.
Just 67 non-compliant telesales calls translated into a $147,400 penalty.
3 signs up for new Consumer Code
The Communications Alliance has announced: ‘Hutchison 3G Australia Pty Ltd (3 mobile) has become the first signatory to the new code designed to protect telecommunications consumers.’
They’re talking about the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code, a consolidation of six previous codes that had become topsy-turvy.
3 has shown leadership by voluntarily signing up to the TCP Code. But providers who don’t sign on the dotted line still can’t ignore it.