Is the industry complying?

What next?

What have we learned?

tcpcode.com.au

tcpcode.com.au

Observation: TOVI are on board

Unit PricingCritical Information SummaryComplaint Handling PolicyFinancial Hardship Policy‘Cap’

tcpcode.com.au

Things you need to knowCritical Information SummaryDownload a Critical InformationSummary for any of the BigPond®Elite Broadband plans -Cable - 5GB, 50GB, 200GB and 500GBADSL - 5GB, 50GB, 200GB and 500GB

But not always with great enthusiasm

tcpcode.com.au

ACMA: Cautiously optimistic

Our Critical Information Summary blitzThe ACMA last week sent our 100th preliminary enquiry letter about compliance with the Telecommunications ConsumerProtections (TCP) Code since its registration in September 2012. This delivers on the promises made by Chris Chapman andJennifer McNeill last year about a more visible compliance presence.

The recent rapid increase in our compliance activities follows a slow start by much of the industry in meeting therequirement to provide a Critical Information Summary (CIS) to consumers from 1 March.

To date, we’ve examined 94 CISs from 50 suppliers. This has led to 38 preliminary enquiries—13 to providers that did nothave readily accessible CISs on their websites and 25 to providers with flawed CISs.

The most common flaws have been failing to link the CIS to the relevant offer on the website and not ordering the CIScorrectly (allowing ‘like for like’ comparisons).

The majority of the recipients have responded quickly and positively to the ACMA’s requests.

Where inadequacies remain, we will make breach findings and take enforcement action. The tools available for non-compliance at this stage are formal warnings or directions to comply with the code.

We will soon be looking at the compliance of another 50 suppliers with the CIS requirements.

tcpcode.com.au

ACMA: Cautiously optimistic

Our Critical Information Summary blitzThe ACMA last week sent our 100th preliminary enquiry letter about compliance with the Telecommunications ConsumerProtections (TCP) Code since its registration in September 2012. This delivers on the promises made by Chris Chapman andJennifer McNeill last year about a more visible compliance presence.

The recent rapid increase in our compliance activities follows a slow start by much of the industry in meeting therequirement to provide a Critical Information Summary (CIS) to consumers from 1 March.

To date, we’ve examined 94 CISs from 50 suppliers. This has led to 38 preliminary enquiries—13 to providers that did nothave readily accessible CISs on their websites and 25 to providers with flawed CISs.

The most common flaws have been failing to link the CIS to the relevant offer on the website and not ordering the CIScorrectly (allowing ‘like for like’ comparisons).

The majority of the recipients have responded quickly and positively to the ACMA’s requests.

Where inadequacies remain, we will make breach findings and take enforcement action. The tools available for non-compliance at this stage are formal warnings or directions to comply with the code.

We will soon be looking at the compliance of another 50 suppliers with the CIS requirements.

“The majority of therecipients have respondedquickly and positively tothe ACMA’s requests.”

tcpcode.com.au

Comms Alliance: Just optimistic

Falling complaint numbers are good news for Telco consumers

Sydney, 14 March 2013 – Complaints to the TelecommunicationsIndustry Ombudsman (TIO) about mobile services fell by 30 per centover the past year as the industry’s new consumer protection codetook effect, Communications Alliance said today.

Communications Alliance CEO, John Stanton, said the welcomereductions in complaints pointed to the fact that service providers wereworking hard to comply with the upgraded consumer protections in theTCP Code.

tcpcode.com.au

What we’re seeing and hearing

▪ Every conceivable permutation▪ Assiduous effort / hiring compliance officer

▪ Website only / hang the rest▪ What TCP Code?

tcpcode.com.au

The Code istoo big and

wordy.

tcpcode.com.au

1,150+line items

TCPCode.com.au checklist

tcpcode.com.au

The Code isoften

confusing.

tcpcode.com.au

Offer means a current, standard in-market plan containing pricing that ismade by a Supplier for the provision ofTelecommunications Products, which isavailable to any individual Consumeror Consumers as a class and includes,without limitation such offers made inAdvertising.

1

tcpcode.com.au

Usage Notifications:For each Residential Customer whoreceives either an Included Value Planor a Post-Paid Service for a broadbandplan with an included data allowancefrom a Supplier…

2

tcpcode.com.au

2Residential Customer means a Customerthat is an individual who acquires aTelecommunications Product for theprimary purpose of personal or domesticuse and not for resale under the standardterms and pricing for residential, non-business customers set out in the Supplier'sStandard Form of Agreement.

tcpcode.com.au

3Unfair Terms:A Supplier will not includeterms which would be Unfairin its Standard Form CustomerContracts under the law.

tcpcode.com.au

The Code appliesto too manybusinesses.

tcpcode.com.au

TOVITIO Top 40TIO Top 100

Micro telco with no TIOs in8 years

Teleconferencing servicewith POPs in two cities

A free wireless access pointin a country town

tcpcode.com.au

If the whole of theCode is enforcedagainst the wholeof the industry,

we’re all in trouble.

tcpcode.com.au

Pragmatic, harmonised andtransparent regulator policypositions that includeguidance and appropriatesafe harbour concessions.

The needful …

tcpcode.com.au

The process could be underway

▪ CommCom’s lodgment extension▪ ACMA publishing a sample CIS

▪ ACMA’s published enforcement timetable▪ ACMA’s re-think on no-hardware plans

tcpcode.com.au