Number portabilityThe Telecommunications Act 1997 requires the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) to make a plan for the allocation and use of numbering of carriage services. If directed by the ACCC, the numbering plan must also include rules about number portability. In making a direction the ACCC must have regard to the long-term interests of end-users (defined in Part XIC of the Competition and Consumer Act). Under Section 462 of the Telecommunications Act the ACCC may be required to arbitrate disputes between parties who are unable to agree on the terms and conditions upon which number portability is provided. To provide information to the market the ACCC has released pricing principles that outline the methodology it would be likely to use if required to arbitrate a dispute over the terms and conditions of the various number portability services. |
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ACCC reasoning; directions to the ACA. Amended directions to ACA; direction to ACA and explanatory statement; final report; discussion paper. Final report, submissions, discussion paper. Directions to the ACA; final report; draft reports; submissions to discussion paper; discussion paper. These principles cover local rate, free phone and premium rate number portability. Final principles; draft principles. While the report and direction relating to local call services dealt with local call, freephone services (for example, 1800 numbers) and local rate services (for example, 13 and 1300 numbers), at this time pricing principles were only developed for local call services. The non-geographic pricing principles (released in October 2003) cover freephone and local rate. |