Australia: Competition watchdog sets sights on telco sector

The Australian competition watchdog is setting its sights on local telecommunications and internet service providers this year, in a new push to come to terms with technological disruption.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman, Rod Sims, has reiterated the regulatory body’s growing focus on the local telecommunications sector and the providers that populate it.

In a statement presented at the annual National Consumer Congress event on 15 March, Sims said new technology has increased consumer access to more products and services, but at the same time, has presented new challenges.

As such, the ACCC is moving beyond the “traditional” areas of consumer guarantees, such as rights for repair, replacement or refund, and focus on more complex areas, including the provision of services from industries such as telecommunications and airline travel.

“Technology brings access to more products, services or information at any previous time in history but with it come new challenges,” Sims said. “In the past year we’ve been working on issues as varied as the sharing economy, rogue online traders, and of course, raising awareness about scam artists finding ever-more sophisticated ways to part people from their hard-earned cash.

Full Content: ITNews

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.