Proposed code for international mobile roaming

Monday 20th December 2010

A proposed code for international mobile roaming services, which would hopefully avoid the problem of "bill shock" encountered by some customers, has been published for public consultation.

The Telecommunications Carriers' Forum said it was taking a lead role with the code in consultation with the industry, Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Ministry of Economic Development.

The telecommunications industry was looking to improve consumer confidence in international mobile roaming, particularly in relation to providing more transparency on pricing and how best to use services, the forum said today.

Measures in the code were aimed at ensuring that pricing was presented in a clear, consistent, timely and useful manner.

Forum chief executive David Stone said the industry's operators already provided detailed pricing information to their roaming customers, and had tried to reduce the complexity of their roaming plans.

"Despite these efforts, there's been a continuing industrywide awareness of customer concerns and 'bill shock' - particularly for those who've been using international roaming," Mr Stone said.

The proposed code would be self-regulating. It does not fall under the scheme of the Telecommunications Act, but would be binding on its signatories.

NZPA

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