Industry Regulator ACMA Warns Australian Comms Providers to Clarify Telecoms Buzzwords

    NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, April 05, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- ACMA, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, has demanded that all the country's telecoms providers must clarify their use of industry terms to help subscribers enjoy greater peace of mind and fairness. The regulator is focusing on terms like 'cap' and 'unlimited plans' as it seeks to drive through greater equality and clearness for consumers.

ACMA wants providers to commit to making subscribers' lives easier by signing up to a voluntary code of conduct which sees all operators pledge to remove misleading terms from contracts and advertising.

'Unlimited Plans'
Many consumers find themselves confused by quite what 'Unlimited plans' means in mobile contract terms, so ACMA wants to put this right.

The regulator is asking Australian operators to remove the expression from its plans since subscribers are often finding themselves paying more than they thought they should. The term is losing popularity with providers as demonstrated by Vodafone and Amaysim, which have removed 'Infinite' from plans and included 1300 and 1800 numbers in Unlimited plans respectively.

Sarah McDonald, spokesperson for Compare Mobile Plans, commented: "It's great to see ACMA taking such a progressive step as this, as it will both clear up the industry in general and also give subscribers a fairer deal. 'Unlimited' plans really do seem to confuse Australian subscribers."

Cap and Included Value
Another term high on the list for change at ACMA is 'Cap', an expression which often leaves consumers confused as to exactly how much they must pay and where limits lie. The regulator wants companies to stop using the expression where there is no clearly-defined limit to spending on a contract.

Further to this, ACMA is asking operators to issue price lists of what a consumer genuinely pays per unit - the body wants operators to offer standard unit fees for two-minute voice calls, texts and for 1MB of data usage.

Flagfall
Flagfall is a term unique to the Australian market in the modern telecoms era, and one which regularly leaves non-native Australians confused when they see additional charges for it on their bills.

"With Flagfall being an outdated term to most countries' consumers, ACMA calling time on its use in Australia is a good step," Sarah McDonald continues.

Relatively new Australian provider Amaysim has recently removed the flagfall issue from its pricing plans by introducing no contract SIM-only contracts with flagfall taken out of them.

Included data
Australia now has a smartphone penetration level of 37 percent, high enough for ACMA to call on providers to clear up quite what the term means to end-users.

"Included data contains a few grey areas too, and we're pleased to see ACMA calling for greater clarity here as well," Sarah McDonald goes on. "Consumers need clarity on quite what they get for their money, while another area of concern is pricey roaming charges which service providers are rarely clear about either."

Comparing mobile plans
Users can log on to Compare Mobile Plans and browse all the latest deals and contracts from all the suppliers in the sector, including Telstra, iPrimus, Bigpond, TPG, Internode, Club Telco and more. The site lets people use a simple calculator to source the best contract for them and also features reviews of the latest handsets around.

About Compare Mobile Plans
Compare Mobile Plans is a free, independent comparison website for consumers looking for a mobile phone plan in Australia.

For further enquiries please contact;
Scott Kennedy, CEO, www.CompareMobilePlans.com.au
E: [email protected]
T: 1300 850 518

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