Telstra submission: Improving telecommunications consumer consultation

Summary

Telstra is pleased to have the opportunity to provide its views to the Government's inquiry into improving consumer consultation strategies in the telecommunications industry.

Telstra believes the implementation of the following recommendations will improve the processes and outcomes to provide best practice consumer consultation in the telecommunications industry.

R1: Consolidate consumer coordination resources and elevate skills.

Successful outcomes depend on the ability to negotiate in a focussed and informed manner. However, consultation must balance coordination with diversity and all stakeholders have a right to be heard. Coordination Resources should be sufficient to enable effective two-way communications with interested stakeholders, allow participation in relevant conferences and meetings, provide training programs for representatives as well as employ relevant specialist public policy skills.

The telecommunications consumer policy body should be a federated member of a funded national peak consumer organisation (as potentially recommended by the Productivity Commission) and be subject to the disciplines of that membership as well as providing specialist input into broader policy work undertaken by the national body where relevant.

Funding should be directed to a single consolidated telecommunications consumer policy body on a multi-year contracted basis with annual performance reporting. Such a body might incorporate specific resources to cover specialist areas such as disability accessibility. It might also have a role in regard to the use of modern communications by NGO/ community organisations and thus also incorporate specific resources to cover small enterprises. CTN would appear to be best placed to fulfil this role in the first instance.

R2: Develop a clear set of objectives for telecommunications consumer representation between industry and consumers.

These objectives would be based on generally held public participation principles, consumer rights charter and user-innovation perspectives. They should recognise commercial and competition imperatives as well as consumer interests.

R3: Endorse self-regulatory partnership models, including for induction and ongoing training for consumer representatives, while respecting consumer independence.

The most significant beneficial outcomes from consultation come from cooperation and partnerships between consumers and industry where each brings resources and expertise to the table with mutual respect seeking mutual outcomes. The most appropriate setting for such activity, on an industry level, is therefore with the industry bodies.

Induction and training programs could efficiently make use of academic and industry subject matter experts, site visits, available literature and possibly even specialised short courses. It should probably be planned and coordinated by the consumer sector itself in consultation with industry.

R4: Ensure community engagement processes are included in industry operating principles for decision making, with appropriate internal resourcing.

Community engagement is a professional undertaking. While it is acknowledged that smaller players would not necessarily have dedicated resources, industry associations should identify such a role and responsibility within their management structure and offer their smaller members access to such processes, even if on a project by project, as-required, basis.

Introduction

Meeting customers' communications needs and aspirations is a primary driver for any company wishing to achieve success in the marketplace. Telstra's transformation, announced by the CEO in November 2005, involves significant investment in new technologies and IT support systems, as well as in marketing, process and cultural changes, all of which are designed to deliver a customer.first experience.

In particular, Telstra's market-based management approach aligns many of the company's internal product development and service processes with the differing needs and aspirations of diverse customer segments. Knowing its customers is central to the way Telstra does business and consumer consultation is one avenue for Telstra to listen to its customer stakeholders.

An example of this approach occurred in credit management policy and operations, where the development of a financial hardship assistance policy with specialised staff training and team structure, done in consultation with relevant consumer and community organisations, has delivered benefits to customers and to Telstra. Telstra contributed its experience and expertise to the development of a Communications Alliance industry guideline and then to the incorporation of financial hardship into the revised Credit Management Code.

Telstra is well-placed to comment on consumer consultation in telecommunications having maintained its commitment since 1988. Telstra was one of the very first companies in Australia to introduce structured processes for community engagement and has subsequently contributed its knowledge and experience to the setting up of consumer councils in other telecommunications bodies and in other industries, such as energy and water. Telstra currently operates the following consumer consultation forums on a regular basis.

Telstra Consumer Consultative Council (TCCC)

Begun in 1988, this major forum meets three times per year with some 15 community and consumer organisations and Telstra senior management. Achievements include the introduction of the InContact® telephone service, the trial of Country Calling in remote Indigenous communities and a number of successful Annual Forums hearing from consumers on topics such as broadband, mobiles, and dealing with financial hardship.

Credit Management Working Group (CMWG)

Also begun in 1988, this specialised committee meets twice per year with some 6 consumer representatives mainly from financial and rural counselling organisations and Telstra credit management executives. Achievements include the abolition of security bonds and the development of Telstra's financial hardship assistance policy and its implementation.

Low Income Measures Assessment Committee (LIMAC)

Begun in 2002, this specialised forum oversees Telstra's Access for Everyone programs assisting people on a low income or in crisis. It brings together major community welfare organisations, the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, and Telstra senior management, meeting four times per year. Achievements include developing partnerships with some 4000 community agencies/ outlets across Australia to assist people on a low income maintain their telephone services, product and service innovation, and the publication of unique research into telecommunications usage among people on a low income.

Telstra Disability Forum (TDF)

With a history back to the early 1990s, Telstra has continuously met with disability representatives to discuss accessibility issues. The Forum meets twice per year with some 12 disability organisations and Telstra senior management. Achievements include the development, monitoring and review of Telstra's Disability Action Plans.

Disability Equipment Program Consumer Advisory Group (CAG)

A smaller committee that monitors and reviews Telstra's specific Disability Equipment Program. It meets twice per year with Telstra's Customer Premise Equipment operations and marketing managers. Achievements include the design, testing and manufacture of Telstra's Big Button Phone and input into Telstra's standard rental telephone, which now includes volume control.

The new communications context for consultation

The most significant driver of innovation in new telecommunications products and services coming to the market is the convergence brought about through digital technologies. This means that an almost limitless number of communications, information and entertainment services can be accessed from the one suitable device.

For example, a mobile phone once used primarily for voice calls and SMS may now also be used for video-calling, taking photos or video clips, sending and receiving MMS, browsing the Internet, sending and receiving e-mail, listening to the radio/ audio tracks, watching streaming video and/ or TV channels, paying bills, trading stocks and looking up directory information based on the user's location.

The recent announcement of the Government's Request for Proposals to deliver a high-speed broadband network to 98% of households highlights the new communications possibilities that will deliver significant benefits to Australian households. The provision of services such as education, health, job search, taxation, social security, not to mention entertainment and communications, will increasingly make use of “always on” ubiquitous broadband.

Many of these developments are consumer-empowering if utilised appropriately. They have the potential to markedly increase social inclusion and community well-being. The future of consumer consultation in telecommunications, then, is inextricably linked to these advances. Its agenda must be forward looking, focussing on maximising the opportunities for participation in the digital future by all Australians. Effective consumer consultation mechanisms can promote innovation and investment if they work towards assisting consumers to achieve their communications goals and maximise the benefits of the new broadband services.

Best practice consumer consultation

Consumer consultation must be viewed within an international best-practice values context. Through relevant staff participation, Telstra contributes to internationally recognised professional bodies such as the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals (SOCAP) and the Australasian Compliance Institute (ACI).

The IAP2 core values describe the fundamental democratic basis for consumer consultation (also called public participation).

The public should have a say in decisions about actions that could affect their lives.
Public participation includes the promise that the public's contribution will influence the decision.
Public participation promotes sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision makers.
Public participation seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision.
Public participation seeks input from participants in designing how they participate.
Public participation provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.
Public participation communicates to participants how their input affected the decision.

The overriding objective is better decision making, which leads to better outcomes in relation to products, services, policies, processes in the telecommunications industry. Such demand side processes also stimulate greater innovation within the industry, something that is slowly being recognised as user-generated content and social networking technologies take off.

Consultation does not necessarily mean giving over decision-making rights. Generally industry and government decision-makers have that final responsibility but through consultation are willing to listen, discuss and possibly negotiate in order to achieve a balanced outcome.

However, there may be circumstances where joint decision making is appropriate such as in the development of consumer codes. Indeed, if there is an expectation that consumers will take responsibility for a negotiated outcome and have some ownership of it, then a greater level of decision-making power would be required. Otherwise, even after consultation, consumers may have no reason to accept the outcome or to support it.

The role of consumer representatives

The question is often asked whether consumer representatives are in fact truly representative of their constituencies or of the market in general, or whether they reflect a narrow or even alternate view of reality. It must be recognised that consultation involving consumer representatives does not lessen or do away with the need for solid market research and other data gathering of a quantitative and/ or qualitative nature. While it is important to understand from consumers and users directly their relationship to a possible technology, engaging with advocates can bring to light different issues that may still be crucial for the success of the technology.

For example, in speaking about how technologies are constructed for users, Jessika van Kammen (2003, p. 158) notes the opportunity to “extend the diversity of techniques for constructing representations of users beyond market surveys” even if complexities arise when multiple stakeholders represent multiple views of the user. She speaks about creating room for “…advocates to introduce different frames of meaning … for example … their concern for the kinds of relations between users and providers that such a technology might constitute” (p. 170).

In other words, advocates bring different but nonetheless important perspectives to the representation of users, which is in addition to the representation brought to the process through traditional market surveys and other stakeholder (eg. regulatory) engagements.

Most large enterprises spend a great deal on large scale market research, but usually much less or none at all are applied to consumer consultation. Consumer consultation should be considered an important adjunct to the means and averages, the reasonable consumer, that marketers work with. Often it is the only way to access experience and information about impacts on vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers.

Elevating representation

Another difficulty often posed is that it is hard to find skilled consumer representatives in telecommunications. Consumers may think too narrowly about options for representation, whereas “I am a representative” could mean any, some or all of:

I am an actual member of the particular consumer group, eg. I am an Indigenous person who lives in an Indigenous community; or
I am a member of an organisation whose constituency is formed by the particular group, eg. I am a policy worker in an Aboriginal organisation; or
I am someone who is capable of representing the group because I understand the issues and am able to articulate them, eg. I am a policy worker in a State Government department that funds services to Indigenous communities; or
I represent someone who will be making decisions that affect the outcomes for this group, eg. I will be the supplier of the service and the one who incurs the costs of provision.

The bottom line is the effectiveness of the representation. It will be important to ensure there are sufficient skilled resources in the consumer sector committed to telecommunications consultation. This will require training opportunities but there may also be an opportunity to broaden the current group of community organisation nominees involved in telecommunications consultation, for example, post-graduate students in media and communications courses that are offered by many Australian universities.

Continuing or ad-hoc consultation

There are broadly two models of consumer consultation practice. One is based on more-or-less permanent customer councils to provide regular feedback on issues raised. The other, more wide-spread practice, is project driven, so that community engagement is factored into social impact and other studies that often form part of large infrastructure developments or local government social planning exercises.

In telecommunications, energy and water industries, the former practice has generally been most appropriate given the Australia-wide nature of the issues and policy responses. This approach also recognises the complexity of the telecommunications industry and its regulatory structure, the fast pace of technology change and the longer lead times necessary for participants to get up to speed. It also recognises the importance of developing relationships between industry and its community that can be called on at short notice.

However, the development of industry codes provides a successful example of the latter, project based model, where the most skilled consumers and industry representatives come together for a specified period of time with a set task to accomplish.

Each model also has its weaknesses. Customer councils can become stale and need processes to constantly refresh both the agenda and participants over time. Project based approaches can be resource intensive, require professional facilitators and relationships may be short-lived. There is also the issue that it takes time for consumer representatives to gain appropriate skills in telecommunications policy and so may not be immediately available for a new project.

For consumer consultation in telecommunications to be effective, there needs to be a balance of both approaches that allows for learning and experience to built up over time, but does not preclude opening up the process to a wider range of stakeholders when necessary.

Consultation efficiency and cost

Consultation should not just happen irregularly at face to face meetings. There are a variety of modern ways of allowing engagement on a small or wide scale. Use of audio-conferences is an efficient alternative, particularly when timelines are short. Use of email/ electronic discussion groups and wikis to draft and finalise documents can also provide ways for participation without the disruption and cost of travel and accommodation.

Informal and formal, the importance of relationships

However, face-to-face contact is still important and informal opportunities to develop relationships, clear up misunderstandings, and negotiate outcomes can be very efficient. Telstra's processes place due importance on this through weekly email contact, informal opportunities to interact prior to the formal meetings and other contacts.

The need for brokers

The world of consumers and the world of business can often be far apart in terms of culture, language, technology resources, values and priorities. Successful consumer consultation in telecommunications requires “brokers” who are able to listen for and analyse “what is at stake”, people who can translate between consumer demand and commercial requirements. Successful consultation processes need:

Consumer representatives who can think about the economics (behavioural, information, competition), the cost-benefit and efficiency arguments, the broad range of consumers as well as minority groups, the relevant research and the public policy implications; and
Industry representatives who are focussed on the customer experience, and who may be customer service, human factors research, public participation, corporate social responsibility and/ or consumer affairs practitioners.

Industry and consumers need to encourage and support the brokers on each side rather than hold them in suspicion or accusing them of “selling out” or being “bleeding hearts”.

Objectives and value of consumer consultation

Expectations play a large role in consumer consultation processes and so it will be important to acknowledge and agree on what the objectives should be. Consumers sometimes expect that all their concerns, no matter how small or anecdotally based, will be taken into account. Industry sometimes expects that consumers will have the same disapproving view of costs when contemplating compliance with new regulatory policies or processes.

A high level objective could be based on that proposed by the Productivity Commission in its draft report on Australia 's Consumer Policy Framework: “To promote the confident and informed participation of consumers in competitive [telecommunications] markets in which both consumers and suppliers can trade fairly and in good faith.”

Fleshing this out in more detail could take into account the general basis for most consumer representations to Government or industry, which is the UN sanctioned charter of consumers rights.

Right to satisfaction of Basic Needs
Right to Safety
Right to be Informed
Right to Choose
Right to be Heard
Right to Redress
Right to Consumer Education
Right to Healthy and Sustainable Environment

Industry might reasonably expect that consumer consultation will bring these “rights” to bear on such things as product and policy developments, codes of practice, customer service initiatives, complaint monitoring and review, quality of service, financial safety, contracts, and other matters.

Both consumers and industry have a reasonable expectation that consultation will add value to industry performance and outcomes. In its own consumer consultation programs Telstra looks to the following ways in which such processes add value to its commercial activities.

The value of user innovation

Telstra looks to consumer and community organisations as informed consumers. Ie. representatives have a level of interest and knowledge about the industry, its products and services, and the needs and aspirations of their constituencies, and who can therefore provide efficient and capable comment on issues raised.
Consumer organisation members can sometimes be involved in problem solving and beta testing of new products or processes that particularly impact their constituencies.
Consumer representatives bring a diversity of views, which is to be valued.
Consumer representatives often bring their knowledge and experience of other industries so that cross-industry fertilisation can occur. For example, from banking regarding credit management, from energy and water regarding bundling of products.
Consumer representatives often have experience in unfamiliar spaces for commercial businesses. This may contribute knowledge about non-telecommunications users or about family dynamics that affect usage. For example, the increasing role of grandparents in children's care and education and implications for Internet usage and protections.

The value of issues management

Telstra recognises consumer and community organisations as important stakeholders, ie. people who have a stake in the way the company operates, whose constituencies may be impacted by what the company does, and who may reasonably expect to have some say in decisions that have an impact on their constituencies.
Telstra recognises the value of effective (ie. trusted) and efficient (ie. accessible) relationships with such stakeholders. Many customer issues and problems can be resolved through “picking up the phone”.
Often the perception created in the media about an issue is a long way from the reality. Being able to provide and explain the full story is often a benefit.
Telstra believes that a flexible business environment can only be maintained through informed, constructive relationships with stakeholders.

The value of marketing communications

Telstra recognises that consumer and community organisations are an important channel for certain below the line targeted communications and distribution, eg. Access for Everyone low-income package, Disability Services and its Financial Hardship Assistance Policy. Such niche programs are never likely to be the subject of mainstream media attention. Further, it is community agencies who are seeing customers in need of such services.
Finally, there are sometimes partnerships that develop with community organisations, combining commercial and community benefits, and which derive from consultation outcomes.

Conclusion

It is clear from the above that value comes out of collaboration, partnerships and constructive relationships and this modus operandi should be the basis for consumer consultation models in telecommunications. Examples of this approach include: the development and two subsequent revisions of the Communications Alliance Credit Management Code; the development in 2002 of Telstra's Low-Income Package of products and services; and the abolition of security bonds for residential telephone services by Telstra in 1997.

This may be new or different ground for some consumer organisations that base their approach on a legal combative advocacy model rather than an inquiry and resolution model. The latter approach, however, is more consistent with the priority given to self-regulatory structures (eg. Communications Alliance , AMTA and the Internet Industry of Australia) and alternative dispute resolution schemes (eg. the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and Telephone Information Services Standards Council). A collaborative approach has the greatest chance of bringing about real positive benefits for large numbers of consumers, rather than just theoretical (regulatory) protections for a small number of consumers.

Resourcing and structure

Effective consumer consultation must not be viewed as an annoying add-on cost, but rather as a pro-active, gainful investment that is capable of producing a return. As such, it should be given the same professional focus and attention and resources as other inputs or elements of a business case or policy proposal. Further, the significant social and economic opportunities presented by modern telecommunications warrants dedicated consumer representation resources. Improving consultation therefore means improving the level and/ or effectiveness of the investment in the processes and people that support it.

Telstra notes that Consumers' Telecommunications Network (CTN) and the Small Enterprise Telecommunications Centre (SETEL) were initiated and funded by Telstra around 1990 as representative organisations to facilitate consumer and small business policy work and support Telstra's engagement around those issues. In 1997 Telstra ensured that resources for consumer representation and research would continue to be made available through the new Telecommunications Act , which raises funds from the industry in various ways. This was done so that the focus for representation could be the whole of the telecommunications industry, not just Telstra's requirements.

Telstra has been dismayed over recent years to observe that the consumer representation and research program appears to have gradually devolved to short-term, disaggregated discretionary grants, with timelines that have put consumer organisations at financial risk. In Telstra's view, this has contributed to the long-term decrease in the effectiveness of consumer representation.

The opportunity now presents itself to restructure this statutory program to provide more stable, coordinated and focussed support for consumer representation in telecommunications consultation processes. The Productivity Commission in its draft report on the Review of Australia's Consumer Policy Framework recommends that Government funding be provided for a national federated peak consumer coordinating body, which would have affiliated members from a wide range of policy areas. Telstra has supported this recommendation and would expect that a telecommunications consumer policy body would be a member of such a national peak consumer organisation, be subject to the disciplines of that membership as well as providing specialist input into broader policy work undertaken by the national body where relevant.

The need for greater coordinating resources in telecommunications representation points to the desirability of amalgamating some of the smaller and disparate consumer projects into one robust body that is able to leverage its expertise across a range of policy areas. It would be the go-to body in regard to telecommunications industry consumer consultation. It would have the capacity to build relationships with relevant academic and industry bodies, service providers, as well as with a diverse range of consumer and community organisations and individuals, which would make up its membership. It would also coordinate induction and training for consumer representatives who are interested in representing their constituencies in industry processes.

Industry bodies such as AMTA, IIA and the Communications Alliance would commit through their business operating principles to engage regularly with the telecommunications consumer policy body, to consider opportunities for consumer consultation at the earliest point possible for new initiatives. The telecommunications consumer policy body would assist with specific consultation projects, when required, by drawing upon the best available expertise and representation, using the most efficient processes to gain feedback. Industry and Government bodies would also commit appropriate resources and funds on a per-project basis to ensure the consultation is successful.

There already exist relevant bodies, such as Consumers' Telecommunications Network (CTN), which are well-placed to carry that coordination capacity forward, having a diverse membership base, links to relevant industry and regulatory bodies, and substantial experience in telecommunications policy development, including for disability services and small enterprise/ community organisations. Improving coordination by consolidating funding and streamlining the structure of consumer representation would improve outcomes.

Conclusion

There is now the opportunity to greatly improve telecommunications industry consumer consultation. The legacies of the last few years should not be allowed to stand in the way of enabling significant communications infrastructure investment along with public participation processes that ensure the most effective and beneficial take-up and usage by consumers and small business.

However, both sides will need to re-evaluate their strategies and commitments. Industry must recognise that public participation has real value if it commits real investment. Consumers must recognise that working with industry, rather than against it, will help their constituencies make the most of their communications opportunities.

The following slide was presented to the August 2007 TCCC by Robert Morsillo as a summary of what needed to happen to “fix” telecommunications consumer consultation.

From…	To…
Conflicts of interest	Mutual interests
User issues	User innovation
From the trenches	Common ground
Hand grenades	Appreciative inquiry
Suspicion	Trustful relationships
Regulatory responses	Market solutions
Minorities and extra costs for everyone	Efficiencies and targeted approaches
Consultation dampening competition and innovation	Consultation helping consumers achieve their communications goals

References

International Association for Public Participation (IAP2). http://www.iap2.org and http://www.iap2.org.au

Productivity Commission. (2007). Review of Australia's Consumer Policy Framework: Draft Report . Canberra .

van Kammen, Jessika. (2003). “Who represents the users? Critical encounters between women's health advocates and scientists in contraceptive research and development.” In N. Oudshoorn & T. Pinch (Eds.), How users matter: The co-construction of users and technologies (pp. 151-171). Cambridge MA : The MIT Press.

Contacts

Robert Morsillo
Group Manager Consumer Affairs
Telstra Corporation Ltd
Tel: 03 9634 5508
Email: Robert.J.Morsillo@team.telstra.com

Trevor Hill
Group Manager Consumer & Compliance
Telstra Corporate Ltd
Tel: 03 8627 7489
Email: Trevor.C.Hill@team.telstra.com

Policy 61: #6371

Document ID: 83511 |
Last modified: 6 May 2008, 5:50pm