NEW INDUSTRY CODE TO ASSIST IN THE ACCURACY OF PUBLIC NUMBER CUSTOMER DATA

Sydney, 27 November 2017 - A newly registered industry Code will improve the accuracy of the public number customer database that is relied on by emergency services to help Australians in danger or distress.

A revised version of the Industry Code C555:2017 Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) (and its associated Guideline G619:2017 IPND Data) has been registered by the industry regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

The IPND is an industry-wide database of all Public Number Customer Data (PNCD).

The IPND serves as a repository of PNCD which broadly includes the Number, the Customer name, service address and Directory Related Services’ information which can be used, for example, to assist in the provision of emergency services and law enforcement.

This most recent version of the Code delivers on specific recommendations that came out of the 2015 IPND Review by the Department of Communications and the Arts. Changes to the Code include:

• Stronger industry practices to support IPND Data Providers use of validation practices to improve data quality;
• Development of guidance for Data Providers to implement processes that allow subscribers to easily view and correct their IPND records;
• Establishment of awareness raising measures to highlight to subscribers the importance and need for providing correct information to their Carriage Service Provider, in order to ensure the IPND record is accurate.
  

The Code reflects practices that are the only achievable and practical approach to dealing with these matters.

Communications Alliance welcomed the registration of the IPND Code, which was generated as part of a collaboration between CA, Industry, the ACMA and The Department of Communications and the Arts for at least the past 5 years.

The IPND itself is a very important and useful database for emergency services and law enforcement, and the more accurate the data, the better equipped emergency service personnel can be to assist in times of need.

Carriage Service Providers will now have a period of 6 months to implement the new processes included in the Code and it is hoped that more customers will begin to become aware of, and understand the importance of keeping their provider up to date with their latest contact details.

The Code was developed by Communications Alliance and its members, and a copy can be found here.