THE Federal Communications department has released draft legislation that will remove most types of next-generation VoIP telephone services from the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) regulatory regime.
The department is seeking public comment from the public and telecommunications companies on the proposed changes, which it says are designed to give maximum certainty to both the industry and to consumers.
The proposed legislative changes were drafted by the Communications after a 2005 report that recommended the CSG be limited to VOIP services supplied in fulfilment of the universal service obligation, or that were supplied as ‘primary services’ by a person who provides both the VOIP service and underlying carriage service.
The changes will be overseen by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
The department said it was not envisaged ACMA would be required to determine on a case-by-case basis which VoIP services were subject to the CSG and which were not. Rather, VoIP providers would interpret and apply the rules as they are relevant to their services and advise their customers accordingly in advance.
The aim of the changes is to provide certainty about how CSG rules apply to VOIP services. The main role the regulator will play is where customers enter a dispute with a VoIP provider about whether or not its service offering is exempt from the CSG.
With the increasing take-up of broadband services and improvements in VoIP technology, there has been increasing business and community interest in VoIP services.
Building on the Coalition’s 2004 election policy, Government undertook to review VoIP services within the existing regulatory framework, looking at issues related to VoIP in the broader context of emerging next generation networks.
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