Consumer perspectives on the introduction of ENUM in Australia Teresa Corbin Acting Executive Officer Consumers’ Telecommunications Network

About CTN Exists for the purpose of representing residential consumers in telecommunications Democratic, inclusive and tolerant organisation Non-profit incorporated association run by its members

CTN Core Values A shared belief in equitable, accessible, affordable and universal access to telecommunications Consumers have a right to participate in policy development Consumers have an entitlement to outcomes which meet our telecommunications needs

CTN Members Pensioners & superannuants Low income consumers People with disabilities Women’s groups Rural & remote consumers Indigenous Australians Deaf consumers People from non English speaking backgrounds Individual members

Consumer Participation

New Technology & Consumer Needs Wide range of choices Affordable prices Interoperability, compatibility Equipment that is: easy to install and use requires no special connection facilities Australian Consumers like innovations

ENUM & CTN Members Workshop 2002 ENUM has significant implications for residential consumers. Any to any connectivity End to end network performance Numbering allocations Number Portability Database Management Privacy

Consumer’s Interest ENUM relates to emerging communications technical developments that are beginning to be discussed in mainstream media. Voice over the internet protocol, 3G mobiles, spamming, on-line security, e- commerce.

UN Declaration of Consumer Rights (1985) 1. The right to safety 2. The right to choose 3. The right to be informed 4. The right to be heard 5. The right to redress 6. The right to education

The Right to Safety Security Controlling unwanted telemarketing & SPAM Privacy safeguards so that personal information is not released to third parties. Managed numbering plan to enable people to have more than one ENUM eg. business ENUM, personal ENUM, etc.

The Right to Choose Choice will attract consumers to the new service Informed consumers will demand the right to choose their own levels of consumer protection e.g consumers putting their own blocks and bars Choice should not undermine backwards compatibility

The right be informed More than a marketing campaign Raise and address consumer concerns Treat consumer input seriously

The right to be heard Be part of industry debates Participate in in the management and roll-out of trials Be represented on advisory bodies throughout the development of a product

The right to redress Ensure there is a dispute resolution process. Resolve any jurisdictional issues before roll-out

The right to education Consumer driven awareness campaigns will be more focussed and lead to better outcomes Market research

Accessibility It does matter if not everyone has access to ENUM Access must be addressed through useability and affordability measures Exactly what kinds of new products and services will ENUM offer ?

Affordability Will VoIP really be cheaper? Will ENUM be used to differentiate service by call quality and charge accordingly? Will ENUM be bundled with other value add services to entice consumers to sign up ? Do consumers still want geographic based numbers ? Will this be forgone for cost savings ? Will further ENUM exascerbate the digital divide ?

CTN Priorities Maintaining quality of service levels Informed choice in an open competitive market Achieving a balance between consumer & shareholder interests Consumer participation in decision making

Consumers want: To explore the potential of ENUM adequately Innovations to be consumer needs driven Privacy concerns addressed Access for People with Disabilities ensured. ENUM as an enabling technology

Towards a better understanding of ENUM Consumer Awareness Raising can be very effective Consumers want more than a directory or routing service Consumers focus on applications not technologies Use case studies ENUM must be attractive to residential consumers as well as to business

Benchmarks for Consumer Protection with ENUM Self managed Opt-in/opt out Data Consistency Adequate notification Choice Access Security Complaints processes Quality of Service Consumer awareness

Clues to the potential failure of ENUM Review Telepath (UPT) type services and establish why they had such low take up Review the introduction of CND in Australia Consider other new numbering initiatives such as the “eight digit” campaign

Conclusion Success of ENUM lies with consumer acceptance This can lead to further opportunities e.g addressing consumer concerns regarding ENUM could lead to better consumer acceptance of other technologies such as e-commerce.