No 16: 10 September 2024

Gary Smith Appointed Communications Compliance Chair

Communications Compliance (CommCom), the independent compliance monitoring body for the Australian telecommunications industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of experienced former telecommunications executive Gary Smith as its new Chair.

Speaking on behalf of CommCom, Acting Chair Victoria Rubensohn AM said:

“We welcome Gary Smith as Chair of CommCom. Gary is well known and highly respected in both industry and consumer circles, and he brings extensive experience in telecommunications industry policy, regulatory structures and consumer issues.

“Gary’s communications industry background is longstanding and varied and he possesses a unique record of working successfully with consumer representatives and regulators operating in the communications field. He has worked in regulatory and compliance roles across the industry, including at AUSTEL and OPTUS, through many years of the industry’s development and growth in both size and complexity. Gary has chaired and participated in numerous industry Code development working groups. He has extensive experience of the operations of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, having served on both the TIO Advisory Council and its Board.

Gary’s wide experience of the co-regulatory framework and his established relationships with stakeholders, combined with his strong commitment to upholding the interests of consumers and his knowledge of the challenges currently faced by the industry make him uniquely well-qualified for the position of CommCom Chair.

We very much look forward to working with Gary. His appointment will ensure that CommCom continues to play a key role in ensuring that telecommunications providers are aware of their obligations under the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code as well as identifying areas where consumer issues can be better addressed, in a period of considerable change in the telecommunications regulatory environment.”

On his appointment to the position of Chair, Gary said:
“I am a strong believer in CommCom’s mission and the value it can add in the telecommunications co-regulatory structure for consumers, CSPs, regulators and Government.

Building open and transparent relationships with these stakeholder groups will be one of my prime objectives. I will also be looking for ways to strengthen our operational resilience and upscale our outreach to providers.

The impending update to the Telecommunciations Consumer Protection Code and the completion of the current compliance attestation cycle will create both challenges and opportunities for us to further illustrate the benefits we bring, including identifying areas where consumer issues can be advanced. We plan to address these challenges head-on.

I appreciate the generous welcoming comments from Acting Chair Victoria Rubensohn AM. I am looking forward to working with Victoria, the Board and staff to lead and further enhance the role of CommCom in the industry.”

Reviewing Spectrum Planning Arrangements

The ACMA has recently concluded a review of the 1800 MHz and 2 GHz spectrum bands, seeking views from industry on planning options to improve arrangements outside of the spectrum licensed areas. The review also proposed changes to the technical framework in the bands and sought views on future possible alignment with spectrum licensing frameworks. The Communications Alliance Satellite Services Working Group (SSWG) provided a submission noting its primary interest is the protection of Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) networks, the requirements of which have been developed with regard to ITU requirements for the satellite component of IMT-2020 3GPP work on 2 GHz non-terrestrial network and the European arrangements for 2 GHz MSS, including the complementary ground component (CGC).

New Members

Communications Alliance is pleased to welcome the following new members: