Consumer perspectives on the introduction of ENUM in Australia Teresa Corbin Acting Executive Officer Consumers’ Telecommunications Network
Jan 02, 2016
Consumer perspectives on the introduction of ENUM in Australia
Teresa CorbinActing Executive Officer
Consumers’ Telecommunications Network
About CTN
Exists for the purpose of representing residential consumers in telecommunications
Democratic, inclusive and tolerant organisation
Non-profit incorporated association run by its members
CTN Core Values
A shared belief in equitable, accessible, affordable and universal access to telecommunications
Consumers have a right to participate in policy development
Consumers have an entitlement to outcomes which meet our telecommunications needs
CTN Members Pensioners & superannuants Low income consumers People with disabilities Women’s groups Rural & remote consumers Indigenous Australians Deaf consumers People from non English speaking
backgrounds Individual members
Consumer Participation
REGULATORAustralian Com m unications Authority
AC A
M EM BERORGANISATIONS
M EM BERORGANISATIONS
CO NSUM ERS
CTN
SELF- REGULATIONAustralian Com m unications Industry Forum
AC IF
GOVERNM ENTDept.Com m unications
D O C IT A
STANDARDS
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS BODIES
New Technology & Consumer Needs
Wide range of choices Affordable prices Interoperability, compatibility Equipment that is:
easy to install and use requires no special connection facilities
Australian Consumers like innovations
ENUM & CTN MembersWorkshop 2002
ENUM has significant implications for residential consumers.
Any to any connectivity End to end network performance Numbering allocations Number Portability Database Management Privacy
Consumer’s Interest
ENUM relates to emerging communications technical developments that are beginning to be discussed in mainstream media.
Voice over the internet protocol, 3G mobiles, spamming, on-line security, e-commerce.
UN Declaration of Consumer Rights (1985)
1. The right to safety 2. The right to choose3. The right to be informed4. The right to be heard 5. The right to redress6. The right to education
The Right to Safety
Security Controlling unwanted telemarketing & SPAM Privacy safeguards so that personal
information is not released to third parties. Managed numbering plan to enable people
to have more than one ENUM eg. business ENUM, personal ENUM, etc.
The Right to Choose
Choice will attract consumers to the new service
Informed consumers will demand the right to choose their own levels of consumer protection e.g consumers putting their own blocks and bars
Choice should not undermine backwards compatibility
The right be informed
More than a marketing campaign Raise and address consumer
concerns Treat consumer input seriously
The right to be heard
Be part of industry debates Participate in in the management
and roll-out of trials Be represented on advisory bodies
throughout the development of a product
The right to redress
Ensure there is a dispute resolution process.
Resolve any jurisdictional issues before roll-out
The right to education
Consumer driven awareness campaigns will be more focussed and lead to better outcomes
Market research
Accessibility
It does matter if not everyone has access to ENUM
Access must be addressed through useability and affordability measures
Exactly what kinds of new products and services will ENUM offer ?
Affordability
Will VoIP really be cheaper? Will ENUM be used to differentiate service by
call quality and charge accordingly? Will ENUM be bundled with other value add
services to entice consumers to sign up ? Do consumers still want geographic based
numbers ? Will this be forgone for cost savings ?
Will further ENUM exascerbate the digital divide ?
CTN Priorities
Maintaining quality of service levels Informed choice in an open competitive
market Achieving a balance between consumer &
shareholder interests Consumer participation in decision making
Consumers want:
To explore the potential of ENUM adequately
Innovations to be consumer needs driven
Privacy concerns addressed Access for People with Disabilities
ensured.ENUM as an enabling technology
Towards a better understanding of ENUM Consumer Awareness Raising can be very
effective Consumers want more than a directory or
routing service Consumers focus on applications not
technologies Use case studies
ENUM must be attractive to residential consumers as well as to business
Benchmarks for Consumer Protection with ENUM
Self managed Opt-in/opt out Data Consistency Adequate notification Choice Access Security Complaints processes Quality of Service Consumer awareness
Clues to the potential failure of ENUM Review Telepath (UPT) type services
and establish why they had such low take up
Review the introduction of CND in Australia
Consider other new numbering initiatives such as the “eight digit” campaign
Conclusion
Success of ENUM lies with consumer acceptance
This can lead to further opportunitiese.g addressing consumer concerns
regarding ENUM could lead to better consumer acceptance of other technologies such as e-commerce.