Comcom proposes to make services from different providers ‘readily comparable’

The Commerce Commission wants to make it easier for consumers to compare mobile and broadband services.

It has released a consultation paper focused on making offers, costs, contracts and coverage more readily comparable between competing companies.

Telecommunications commissioner Tristan Gilbertson said the difficulty of comparing plans and providers was a major reason behind customer complaints and dissatisfaction.

The commission has asked upfront disclosure of key information such as the average monthly cost of services.

For example it said, consumers needed to know that signing up to a 28 day plan meant they had to pay 13 times a year, rather than 12.

The cost of energy services included in broadband bundles was another target for the commission. It said consumers needed to know whether electricity and gas charges in such bundles were higher than market rates.

Consumers also needed to know the total costs of the contract and information about mobile coverage, it said.

“Competition between different technologies and providers is delivering more choice than ever before – but it’s not always easy to compare different plans and providers on a like-for-like basis,” Gilbertson said.

“We don’t want consumers signing up for one provider’s offer because it wasn’t easy for them to compare it with other offers that might have been better for them. For this reason, we’re proposing a more standardised approach to marketing information so consumers can make more confident choices about their connectivity.”

The commission also wanted providers to produce standardised contract summaries and to standardise the way providers calculated and reported on their customer numbers.

Telcos and tech users support ComCom move

The Telecommunications Forum, which is the main industry body representing the likes of 2degrees, Spark and Vodafone, said it welcomed the Commerce Commission’s move.

Chief executive Paul Brislen said ensuring consumers had a clear understanding of products and services, was essential.

“The paper raises a number of areas for input and we will be seeking to better understand how we can move this work forward in the New Year,” Brislen said.

“Many providers offer bundled services that combine their broadband, electricity and gas, for example, with one provider, or receive discounted content services. This can be challenging for some consumers and it’s important we make it easy for them to understand what’s on offer.”

The Tech Users Association’s chief executive Craig Young said it previously raised issues around the difficulty users faced in being able to compare products, and was pleased with the commission’s announcement.

“Our strong belief is that these [proposals] will help users be able to make better informed decisions about their connectivity services,” Young said.

Submissions on the proposals are due 7 December.