ACMA - IFC 43/2011

Review of the mobile premium services determinations

Submissions received

The submission date has now closed and the ACMA received the following submissions in response to the consultation paper:

Background

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is undertaking a review of the Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2010 (No. 1) (the Barring Determination) and the Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2010 (No. 2) (Do not Contract / Do not Bill Determination).

The Barring Determination requires all mobile carriage service providers to provide their customers with the ability to bar all premium SMS and MMS services and to provide information to their customers about barring and how to request barring over the lifecycle of ownership of a mobile phone.

The Do Not Contract /Do Not Bill Determination prohibits mobile carriage providers and content service providers from contracting with content providers not included in the industry register. Mobile content providers of premium SMS and MMS services are prohibited from billing for a period up to three years where they have been found by the ACMA to have breached the Mobile Premium Services Code in a way that has caused significant detriment to consumers.

The consultation paper is available in PDF (384 kb) or Word (383 kb) formats.

Submissions

The ACMA invited written submissions on the operation of the two determinations.

The closing date for submissions was 5.00 pm on Thursday 22 December 2011.

Submissions should be sent:

By email: psms-protections@acma.gov.au

By post:
Manager
New Communications Issues and Safeguards Section
Australian Communications and Media Authority
PO Box 13112
Law Courts
Melbourne VIC 8010

Publication of submissions

In general, the ACMA publishes all submissions that it receives. However, the ACMA will not publish submissions that it considers contain defamatory or irrelevant material.

The ACMA prefers to receive submissions over which confidentiality is not claimed. However, the ACMA accepts that a submitter may sometimes wish to provide information in confidence. In these circumstances, submitters are asked to identify the material over which confidentiality is claimed and provide a written explanation for the confidentiality claim.

The ACMA will consider each claim for confidentiality on a case-by-case basis. If the ACMA accepts a confidentiality claim, it will not publish the confidential information unless required or authorised by law.

Release of information in submissions

Any submissions provided to the ACMA may be released under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth). The ACMA may also be required to release submissions for other reasons including for the purpose of parliamentary processes or where otherwise required by law (for example, a court subpoena). While the ACMA seeks to consult, and where required by law will consult, with submitters of confidential information before that information is provided to another party, the ACMA cannot guarantee that confidential information will not be released through these or other legal means.

Sharing of information

Under the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005, the ACMA may disclose certain information to the Minister, the Department (including authorised officials), Royal Commissions, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, certain Commonwealth authorities such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and the authority of a foreign country responsible for regulating matters relating to communications or media.

Effective consultation

The ACMA is working to enhance the effectiveness of its stakeholder consultation processes, which are an important source of evidence for its regulatory development activities. To assist stakeholders in formulating submissions to its formal, written consultation processes, it has developed Effective consultation: A guide to making a submission. This guide provides information about the ACMA's formal written public consultation processes and practical guidance on how to make a submission.