Telco Industry Reviewing Service Continuity Arrangements

Sydney, 16 May 2014 – Communications Alliance has launched a review of the industry arrangements that are designed to help customers stay connected if their telecommunications service provider runs into financial difficulty.

The review will look at whether existing arrangements need to be modified and/or whether new co-regulatory measures may be needed to reduce the risk of customers being involuntarily disconnected if their provider becomes insolvent.

Communications Alliance is the primary industry association representing the telecommunications sector.

“We recognize that the recent events involving several resellers going into administration have resulted in some customers being disconnected and inconvenienced, and that industry must strive to minimize this occurrence”, Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton said today.

“In previous – thankfully rare – situations of this type, industry players have typically been able to mobilise cooperatively and minimise disruption to customer services.

“Each financial event is unique, however, and the current situation has been made more difficult by the complex structures and inter-relationships between some of the involved entities.

“Many of the affected customers have been successfully migrated and/or given the option to transfer their service to a different provider. Not all customers, however, transferred their services before being disconnected.”

Mr Stanton said Communications Alliance and its members would liaise with Government and the industry regulator throughout the review and in relation to any recommendations emerging from it.

ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE

Communications Alliance is the primary telecommunications industry body in Australia. Its membership is drawn from a wide cross-section of the communications industry, including carriers, carriage and internet service providers, content providers, search engines, equipment vendors, IT companies, consultants and business groups.

Its vision is to provide a unified voice for the telecommunications industry and to lead it into the next generation of converging networks, technologies and services. The prime mission of Communications Alliance is to promote the growth of the Australian communications industry and the protection of consumer interests by fostering the highest standards of business ethics and behaviour through industry self-governance. For more details about Communications Alliance, see www.commsalliance.com.au.

Media information contact:

Kreab Gavin Anderson
Hannah Ritchie hritchie@kreabgavinanderson.com 0452 404 303