His statement came to mind, however inappropriately, on reading the announcement by ACMA's chief executive Chris Chapman, that he is nailing the national telecommunication regulator's "colours to the mast" in launching a "formal inquiry into customer service and complaints handling in the telecommunications industry following the on-going high volume of complaints to the industry ombudsman".
Mr Chapman commented that -
Many would share the ACMA's concern about whether the current arrangements which underpin telecommunications consumer protection are really effective in dealing with the issues that concern consumers most.Alas, ACMA hasn't been particularly vocal about those concerns in recent years, leading critics to muse that coregulation does not mean cohabitation and that an occasional public warning might be more efficacious than corporate pillow-talk away from the public arena.
Chapman stated that -
The trend-line growth and sheer quantum of complaints about complaint handling and customer service — up to 900 every working day — reflects poorly on the entire industry. Whether this is evidence of a failing regulatory system or just a perception of that failure, I now believe this issue has to be confronted directly and urgently otherwise we will be talking about these same issues for years to come.Quite so.
One response is his commitment that -
As part of the inquiry, I will personally brief CEO's of the larger service providers (representing 90 per cent of the TIO complaints) and ask for their support. As the learnings emerge from the inquiry, I will seek their collective agreement on enforceable strategies for lowering the number of complaints to the industry ombudsman about complaint handing.It is disappointing that such briefing hasn't been taking place already and that agreement has not already been sought. The absence of such briefing - the CEO's are, after all, just a phone call or short flight away - does not bode well for future engagement.
Chapman foreshadowed a 'regulatory forum' -
As regulators, we need to turn the mirror on our structures and roles. I do not believe the current regulatory 'alphabet soup' of ACMAs, TIOs, ACCCs, DBCDEs, CAs and TISSCs (along with the state Offices of Fair Trading) is leading to the best solution for some of the bigger problems. In the short-term, I will be seeking to work with my colleagues at the ACCC and the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and with consumer groups, led by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, to identify emerging issues in telecommunications and develop appropriate regulatory responses. This is best done in collaboration.In a speech titled Telco regulation 2.0 – Reconnecting the customer on 20 April he indicated that -
it is also incumbent on the ACMA to lift its general facilitation game. At a time of rapid change, it is important that we engage in genuine dialogue and solution building. This is an important message, not only for senior executives of our respective organisations, but also for the many technical and operational relationships we have with our stakeholders. ...
the ACMA Authority [sic] today takes this opportunity to set out its approach:
1. We remain supportive of the co-regulatory approach but, building on what we have learnt in the Telco space over the last several years as to the shortcomings of that approach—particularly with respect to consumer and user concerns — we are moving ahead with renewed vigour and a strong, pro-active bias.
2. We want to forge the new paradigm, together with industry participants, with consumer perspectives effectively engaged and accommodated.
3. We expect that the data, learnings and evidence from the formal inquiry to resolve to solutions for us all to deliberate on and execute as a foundational piece of telco regulation 2.0.
4. We see great opportunity for leaders in the Telco space to establish customer-centric approaches that are brand equity led.
5. So I am nailing the Authority's colours to the mast. We're not waiting for anyone, anymore.
