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.