ComCom wants to know what you think of your phone and broadband service
The Commerce Commission is seeking feedback from New Zealande consumers regarding the phone and broadband services.
The move comes after changes made by parliament to the Telecommunications Act directed the Commission to collect and report on the quality of service consumers receive from their telco providers.
Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Stephen Gale says the Commission wants to know what Kiwis like and dislike about their phone and broadband, and in particular what frustrates them.
"We also want to know what information is useful to help them make choices about what providers and services they sign up to," he says.
"We're calling for consumers to share their thoughts via a couple of online questions. We've also released a summary paper that includes examples of what we think could be helpful for consumers when choosing their phone and broadband services," Gale explains.
"We know price isn't the only thing New Zealanders care about, and our new powers will help us highlight the quality of service that consumers experience," he says.
"The aim of this work is to lift the level of service overall by encouraging providers to compete on quality, not just dollars and data."
Following feedback, the Commission will hold workshops with industry, consumer advocacy groups and interested consumers to help decide the information that it will collect and how it will collect it. It will then seek advice on the best ways to provide that information to consumers.
Consumers can share their likes and dislikes via this short online form. Individual submissions can also be emailed to regulation.branch@comcom.govt.nz.
The deadline for feedback is 5pm on 31 July 2019.
Background
Telecommunications (New Regulatory Framework) Amendment Act
The changes to the Telecommunications Act are intended to increase consumer safeguards and provide more regulatory oversight of retail quality standards and dispute resolution processes. The Act enables the establishment of regulatory codes if industry-led codes are inadequate. The Act will also see the Commission periodically review the existing Telecommunications Dispute Resolution service.
