ComReg announces new rules for CPS

dahamsta

(Merge the forums.)

ComReg announces new rules for CPS
Wednesday, September 24 2003
by Matthew Clark

Following industry consultation, ComReg on Wednesday introduced a number of measures to boost competition in the Irish residential and SME phone market.

Regarding a segment of the telecoms sector called Carrier Pre-Selection (CPS), the Irish Communications Regulator has decided that there is a dearth of competition and has introduced new rules that are designed to help smaller telecoms to pick up more customers.

Carrier Pre-selection is a mechanism that entrant operators use to deliver phone services over Eircom's network and it has been in place in Ireland for a number of years. However, since its introduction, there has never been a mass exodus of customers from Eircom to other telecoms, and last spring the poor development of the sector prompted ComReg to investigate the market more closely.

The investigation focused mainly on the fact that Eircom still has a 90 percent share of the residential and SME phone market and even when consumers leave the incumbent, they often come back to Eircom after less than year with another company, a process known as churn.

[...]

neverhappen

No mention of single billing in there... Surely thats a major factor.... Where is it anyway - wasn't it meant to be here in June ???

De Rebel

Sounds like a load of bureaucratic twaddle. And anyway why shouldn't eircom be allowed to make winback calls? Instead of ALTO'S thoroughly unfair 12 month ban, why don't they pay Lansdown Market Research to contact 500 customers who were "won back" and ascertain their reasons for returning. It can hardly be simply to stop eircom making winback calls, now can it. Much more likely to be some of the bizarre dubious charging systems and the big gap between the headline "savings" and the reality of the bill that drops through the door.

ComReg would be better employed sorting out single billing which is a prerequisite for true competition.

Moriarty

Originally posted by De Rebel
Sounds like a load of bureaucratic twaddle. And anyway why shouldn't eircom be allowed to make winback calls? <snip>

It could also have something to do with the underhandedness and barefaced lying documented on these forums that the reps calling on behalf of eircom regularly get up to.

De Rebel

This is hardly the way to sort it out though. A proper analysis of peoples reasons for returning to eircom, together with enforcement of penalties for false advertising/breach of contract (which is what i assume you mean by underhandedness and barefaced lying) is the way to go. A 12 month ban, which ALTO wants, is itself totally anti-competitive.

Anytime I hear ALTO fighting the consumer's corner i get deeply suspicious.

dahamsta

Originally posted by neverhappen
No mention of single billing in there... Surely thats a major factor.... Where is it anyway - wasn't it meant to be here in June ???

Didn't we have mention of this recently, in that an EsatBT rep called into someone and offered them the service, but when the user tried to follow it up he found it rather diffictult to actually buy. A search for "single-billing" under Muck's handle will likely reveal the gritty-nitty.

adam

spongebob

The winback quarantine should have been 6 months or so and even then the winback guy should have had to produce a detailed tariff sheet, signed by the customer, showing what they agreed to come back 'for' .

This tariff sheet should be retained for inspection for a year afterwards in case the customer is diddled (as many are) in order that Comreg can inspect it whether at the customer or ALTO's instigation. The tariff sheet must also detail applicable discount schemes.

It is as weak as hell seeing as this has been going on since last October (I think thats when Comreg started investigating) . It shows that Comreg were inept when it came to ALL OF

a) the fostering of competition (their job)
b) the deregulation of the monopoly market (their job)
c) the protection of the consumer (their job)

M

Eurorunner

SBP Sept. 28th 2003
Eircom Was Set To Sue Over Client Contact Ban - Gavin Daly

'Eircom was prepared to take court action to stop the telecoms regulator blocking it from contacting customers lost to rivals. The company was last week barred from contacting lost customers for three months, a lighter ban than initially proposed by the regulator.
The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) had proposed a moratorium of either four months or 12 months on contacting lost customers. David McRedmond, Eircom's director of strategy said the 'extreme measure proposed would have been so damaging' to Eircom that it would have taken legal action to stop them.

'When very extreme measures are proposed, we will do what it takes' he said. Eircom has shied away from legal action against ComReg since being taken private by the Valentia consortium in 2001.

'Going to court is not something that Eircom would ever want to do, but some things are so damaging to telecoms and the interests of customers that we must,' McRedmond said. He said Eircom did not believe there should be any restrictions on contacting customers lost to competitors.
'Any restrictions are anti-consumer and limit the information available to users. A lot of cutomers come back to Eircom and I refuse to say they are wrong to come back'.
ComReg proposed the moratorium on so-called win-back activity after it was found that 93 per cent of customers who left Eircom returned to the firm within a year. Telecoms lobby group Alto had claimed that Eircom aggressively pursued customers who changed provider.

Alto and Eircom competitors, including Esat BT had called on ComReg to prevent win-back activity for 12 months. 'The decision was very disappointing', a spokeswoman for Esat BT said.'The consultation paper suggested radical action, but the directive was pale in comparison. The three-month ban is a bit of a joke, as consumers will get just one bill from their new operator in that period'.
She also said Eircom was using out-of-date figures in an advertising campaign that claimed it was the cheapest operator in the market. Seperately, McRedmond said Eircom had been vindicated in a legal spat with ComReg, after judicial review proceedings between the two were dropped.
Eircom took the proceedings after ComReg attempted to lower the price Eircom could charge competitors for access to its local area network. With the dropping of the proceedings, the existing wholesale monthly charge of €16.81 will remain in place for at least six more months.
However, earlier this year Eircom said it was essential that it be allowed charge a higher price.'

spongebob

Comreg folded twice last week!

Jump Etain , you are a waste of space nowadays.

M

dahamsta

That's right David, you're doing it all for the consumer. Charging them more, offering them worse service, trying to screw them at every corner. Why don't you invite them all up to Dublin for a nice group hug.

Tosser.

adam