These Are The 39 Phone Companies And ISPs ACMA Has Formally Warned

One of the jobs of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is to track whether phone companies and internet service providers are meeting regulatory requirements. Today, it announced it had issued formal warnings to 39 providers for not meeting basic requirements around paperwork and customer information. That would make us cautious about using any of them.

Hanging up picture from Shutterstock

Any comms provider operating in Australia has to lodge documents with industry body CommCom by 1 April each year demonstrating that it meets the requirements of the TCP Code. That code includes requirements that providers offer accurate summaries of their costs and notifications of excessive usage. The companies receiving a warning have not submitted the required paperwork to CommCom and have not responded to subsequent contact from ACMA.

Of the 39 names on the list, I actually only recognised three: mobile provider Lebara (notable for targeting users who make lots of overseas calls), AusBBS (notable for its unusual NBN plans) and Yatango (notable for its unusual crowdsourcing approach). Here’s the full list of 39 who were sent warnings:

   
Advanced Future Technology Rival Networks Pty Ltd
Allconnect Telecommunications Pty. Limited Saunders Capital Holdings Pty Ltd
AussieSim Pty Ltd SMS Global Pty Ltd
Australian Broadband Service Pty Limited Spintel Pty Ltd
BKB Internet Pty Ltd Switchtel Pty Ltd
Btel Communications Pty Ltd Talk Talk Pty Ltd
C RHODES & L.F RHODES Talk365 Pty Ltd
Cybertel Telecom Pty Ltd Telecube Pty Ltd
Forinton, Justin Paul Texcel Communications Pty Ltd
Integrated Data Networks Management Australia Pty Ltd The Trustee for M & E ALCHI FAMILY TRUST
Intelico Pty Ltd The Trustee for the Talk 3 Trust
Lebara Australia Limited The Trustee for the Teligent Trust
Logitel Pty Ltd Total Group Pty Ltd
MGL Telecoms (Aust) Pty Limited Travel&Travel Pty Ltd
NBNSP Pty Ltd Voicetalk Pty Ltd
Next Business Telecommunications Pty Ltd VOIPEX Pty Ltd
Norris Technology Pty Limited VTelecom
Nu Communications Pty Ltd Winderee investments Pty Ltd
R.J Hicks & B.D McIntosh & N Somner Yatango Mobile (Australia) Pty Ltd
Real Sim Pty Ltd  

The market for phone and internet services is competitive; I wouldn’t be choosing a company that is, at best, disorganised.

ACMA


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