Published Monday 3 May 2010
This month's Broadsheet includes an update on working party activity in the areas of Ultra Fast Broadband and IP Interconnection and looks at common customer complaints via the TDR.
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In this issue of the broadsheet you will find information on:
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David Stone,
TCF Chief Executive Officer |
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There is no let-up in the volume of work we are undertaking. Once again the main focus is preparing standards for the ultrafast broadband (UFB) initiative. There has been considerable work done by the UFB working party developing standards for both dark fibre and layer 2 services. This working party is working to very tight deadlines to meet the timeframes set by Crown Fibre Holdings. You can read more about the working party in the report from the independent chair, Peter Harris, below.
The Emergency Services Calling Code has now been signed by a number of members and others are expected to sign up very soon.
Considerable attention is also being focused on the proposed reform of the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Scheme following the withdrawal of several Tier Two members during the past year. Information from the TDR’s annual report is included in this broadsheet.
Last but by no means least, considerable work is also being done by the three work streams of the Customer Transfer Code Working Party.
David Stone
Chief Executive |
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Auckland consultant Peter Harris has been appointed as the independent chair of the UFB working party. Peter has a background in the construction industry, and specialises in strategic thinking and being an independent chair. He attended the working party’s first meeting in April and has written the following report:
“I am delighted to be filling the role of independent chair for the TCF's UFB working party. The Government roll-out of ultrafast broadband nationally is one of the most significant infrastructural undertakings that New Zealand has seen, and being a part of the team tasked with helping industry deliver the infrastructure is both exciting and challenging, particularly given the timescales that Government are keen to achieve.
As Chair, I am tasked with leading the working party to establish the standards and codes of practice that will be used by Crown Fibre Holdings and the industry to roll out UFB throughout New Zealand. |
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At my first meeting earlier in April, I was enthralled and inspired by the work that the group had achieved thus far.
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Peter Harris, Chair |
| The depth of experience around the table is vast, both from industry and Government, and it became quite clear that this role was going to involve some lively debate. As an observer at that first meeting, I was reminded of the focus required on 'making things happen' in such roles. There is a fine balance in leading a working party such as this; a balance between listening attentively, allowing discussion and feedback, acknowledging people's views, guiding discussion and making a decision to move on to the next issue. There are periods of 'chaos' and 'silent order' and a constant need to break what appear to be potentially significant roadblocks into smaller road bumps – picking them off one at a time, or working out how to drive around them, as if they were chicanes. |
I have not had an involvement with the Telecommunications industry before – I guess that is one reason why I was selected as an independent chair. The number of acronyms is phenomenal – there is an acronym for almost everything, and it could be very easy to let this lead you into a land of confusion. The interesting thing is that ignorance actually helps –creating a clarity and awareness for those discussions that are taking the group 'down a rabbit hole' or up a dead end.
What makes life more exciting for this group of people is the fact that there is no 'roadmap', no clear direction other than an objective – get ultrafast broadband throughout New Zealand 'tout de suite'. Whilst NBN Co grapples with a similar task in Australia, and others do likewise around the globe, there is no 'one answer' to rolling out ultrafast broadband. Success will demand innovative thinking and solutions for our environment, and an ability for both the Government and the industry to work together to achieve the best results.
There are thousands of people involved in taking New Zealand further into the digital age, through the implementation of this $1.5bn initiative. I am very proud to be one of them".
Further information on this workstream can be found here. |
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The IP Interconnection working party has now started meeting again, and will consider a revised project scope in May.
The revised scope focuses on developing technical standards for IP Interconnection and a test plan for piloting IP Interconnection. Discussions about the commercial issues associated with IP Interconnection will also continue.
The decision to draw up a revised project scope was made following a meeting held on 26 March to discuss whether the working party should continue, and under what direction. The working party last met in April 2009. |
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The Telecommunication Dispute Resolution (TDR) was set up by the TCF in 2007 and is overseen by a governing council consisting of 50% consumer and 50% industry representation.
Billing practices continued to dominate complaints to the TDR service during 2009. According to the TDR Annual Report, more than a third of all complaints (39%) made by customers under the scheme were related to billing practices, followed by complaints about customer service (18%).
The number of complaints which required adjudication increased significantly during the year – from just one case in 2008 to 26 in 2009. Another 43 complaints required either “facilitated negotiation” or conciliation.
A total of 1621 people contacted the TDR with complaints during 2009. Of those, 1000 were non-relevant enquiries that went no further. Of the remaining 621, 496 were referred back to the relevant providers because they were still trying to resolve them through their own internal complaint-management processes. The rest were considered by the TDR.
The most common complaints included complaints about the amount that customers were billed, data-use charges and account errors. The report says that the number of complaints about internet data and roaming charged increased during 2009. Customers also complained about being given incorrect or inadequate advice, or that their requests were not actioned.
The report says that complaints about warranties for moisture-damaged phones continued to be an issue during 2009. The TDR council has advised providers that they could be doing more to help educate customers about how to prevent moisture damage.
The TDR carried out a customer satisfaction survey during 2009, and found very high levels of satisfaction with the service. Of those who were surveyed, 96% were satisfied or very satisfied with the way staff dealt with them, and 95% were satisfied or very satisfied with the way their complaints were handled.
During 2009, three parties (CallPlus/Slingshot, Eziphone and WorldxChange) withdrew from the scheme. More recently, Orcon also withdrew. The Minister has recently written to the TCF expressing the Government's concern that there are several members of the TCF who are not members of the TDRS and urging these companies to rejoin. |
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The following members have now become signatories to the TCF Emergency Calling code with others expected to sign up in the coming weeks - Kordia, Orcon, Telecom, TelstraClear and Vodafone.
The code was endorsed by the Board in November 2009 and introduces agreed minimum standards for managing 111 calls by telecommunications service providers. It sets out service-performance and customer-information standards for emergency calls, and applies to mobile and landline services, as well as calls made from public payphones.
The TCF Emergency Services working party are continuing to work with Emergency Services officials in the areas of Mobile SOS arrangements and caller location information.
The working party is also working with the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Managment to look at options around a telecommunications based Public Alerting System. Such a sytem would be used to deliver timely warnings for all New Zealand hazards where such warnings are possible.
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The TCF is pleased that the negotiating text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has now been publicly released following negotiations held in Wellington in April. This will make the ACTA negotiations more accessible to the public.
The participating countries agreed to release the text at the end of the eighth round of negotiations, held on 12–16 April. Participants in the negotiations included Australia, Canada, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, the EU Presidency (Spain) and EU Member States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States of America.
The next meeting will be hosted by Switzerland in June 2010. The aim is to continue work with the goal of concluding ACTA as soon as possible in 2010. You can read the full negotiating text at www.mfat.govt.nz |
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Contact Information |
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