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Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services - (submissions closed)

Proposed changes to the telecommunications Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) to better accommodate Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services

On 22 January 2007 a draft direction, the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Direction No. 1 of 1999 (Amendment No. 1 of 2007), was released for public comment. Once tabled it will be issued to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to remove the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) from a limited range of VOIP services.

The This link opens a document in Portable Document File (PDF) formatVOIP CGS Draft direction (File size: 27Kb) and its accompanying This link opens a document in Portable Document File (PDF) formatVOIP CGS Draft Explanatory Statement (File size: 79Kb) is available for download.

How VOIP services should be regulated is a new and challenging issue and it is important that the best approach is adopted. It is therefore important that the industry and community consider and comment on this draft direction and the approach it proposes.

The period for comment has now closed. Five submissions commenting on the draft direction were received.

Further information

The draft Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Direction No. 1 of 1999 (Amendment No. 1 of 2007) provides for the amendment of the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Direction No. 1 of 1999) to require ACMA to amend its Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2000 (No. 2) to remove the CSG from certain types of VOIP services.

The draft direction seeks to give effect to Recommendation 16 of the Government’s 2005 Report, Examination of Policy and Regulation relating to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Services. Recommendation 16 proposed that the CSG be limited to VOIP services supplied in fulfillment of the USO or that were supplied as ‘primary services’ by a person who provides both the VOIP service and underlying carriage service. The VOIP Report is available from Emerging Voice Services.

The Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) is an important consumer safeguard to which the Government is strongly committed. However, the VOIP Report concluded that the CSG was not necessarily an appropriate form of regulation for all types of VOIP services, particularly those that differ significantly from traditional two-way telephone services, and are essentially niche services, including those delivering via PCs or which are predominantly nomadic. A particular concern was that the CSG may add unduly to industry costs and stifle innovation to the detriment of consumers.

Contact:

Manager, Emerging Issues
Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts

Email: Emergingissues@dcita.gov.au
Post: PO Box 2154, CANBERRA ACT 2601
Phone: 02 6271 1598

  • Document ID: 56791 |
  • Last modified: 4 February 2008, 5:03pm