12 telecom providers violate TCP code

ACMA issues directions; court proceedings and fees could follow if breaches continue

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has slapped 12 telecom companies for failing to comply with its consumer code.

The ACMA has directed the companies to comply with the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) code. The telcos failed to lodge annually required documents with industry compliance body, Communications Compliance (CommCom), by 1 April.

All 12 telecom providers had previously been the subject of ACMA compliance action, and for some it was the second time they failed to lodge compliance documents with CommCom.

Any further breaches of the code could lead to court proceedings and a pecuniary penalty being imposed, the ACMA said.

The TCP Code was revised in July 2012, with customers to receive clearer information about their plan and better notification about usage.

“These directions by the ACMA send a strong message to industry players who continue to flout code rules,” said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman.

While the 12 violating telcos did not comply with the TCP code, 331 others did lodge the required documentation for 2014. That was a nearly 50 per cent improvement from 2013 when 225 companies lodged. The ACMA had issued formal warnings to 39 providers that failed to lodge the documents in 2013.

“While it is encouraging to see that the majority of active telcos have lodged documents with CommCom on time, it is disappointing that a small number of providers have yet to take their obligations seriously,” said Chapman.

ACMA sent the directions, which are available on the regulator’s website, to:

  • Aussie Dial
  • David John Esmonde
  • E-Tel Communications
  • HomeLinX
  • iTalk Australia
  • Max Telecom
  • Netbay Internet
  • Oz Talk
  • Pivit
  • Reeds Internet & Telecom
  • Spinktel
  • Vocaltone Networks Australia.

Adam Bender covers telco and enterprise tech issues for Computerworld and is the author of dystopian sci-fi novels We, The Watched and Divided We Fall. Follow him on Twitter: @WatchAdam

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU, or take part in the Computerworld conversation on LinkedIn: Computerworld Australia

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