VoIP services and the Customer Service Guarantee

Introduction

The Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2000 (No. 2) requires carriage service providers to meet specified timeframes to connect services, repair reported faults and keep appointments, subject to limited exceptions.

If a carriage service provider fails to meet these timeframes, a consumer may be entitled to financial compensation. For further information about the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG), see the Australian Communication and Media Authority’s website: http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_2017.

This position statement discusses the status of VoIP services in relation to the Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) Standard. There are many different types of VoIP services, and not all of them are covered by the CSG Standard.

What is VoIP? VOIP stands for Voice-over Internet Protocol and is also known as Internet telephony. There are many different types of VOIP services. The common feature for all VOIP services is the way the voice is transmitted. A VOIP service digitises the sound of the speaker’s voice and sends it as a data packet just like any other data that is sent over the internet. Before it reaches the listener, the signal is transformed back into a normal voice signal. This way of transmitting telephone calls costs much less than carrying calls over traditional voice-based telecommunications infrastructure. See also ACMA’s introductory information on VoIP at http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310759

When does the Customer Service Guarantee Standard apply to a VoIP service?

The CSG Standard applies to VOIP services which are equivalent to a standard telephone service. The test of whether a VoIP service is equivalent to a standard telephone service is whether the user can make calls to any other party and receive calls from any other party. In more technical terms, this means:

..if a voice service is a carriage service for the purpose of voice and provides “any-to-any” connectivity (that is, it can make calls to, and receive calls from, other telephones connected to other interconnected telephone networks), then it is considered to be a standard telephone service. Most VOIP services connected to the public network meet this definition of a standard telephone service and, therefore, attract a wide range of regulatory obligations, including … the CSG.

November 2005 report by the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Examination of Policy and Regulation Relating to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Services, p. 19

When does the Customer Service Guarantee Standard not apply to a VoIP service?

The Customer Service Guarantee does not apply to VoIP services that are not equivalent to a standard telephone service. For example, it does not apply to "peer-to-peer" VoIP services which only allow users to make calls to and receive calls from a restricted group of "peers".

Peer-to-Peer VOIP Services Peer-to-peer services are isolated from the public telephone network and are typically provided by an online provider, requiring the user to have a separately sourced broadband internet connection. These services only allow users to make and receive calls while "on-net".

How does the TIO investigate complaints about delays in the connection or repair of VoIP services?

To help us decide whether a customer is entitled to financial compensation under the CSG Standard for a delay in connecting or repairing a VoIP service, we seek answers to the following questions:

• How is the VoIP service supplied?
  
  
• Is the VoIP service equivalent to a standard telephone service in that it allows “any-to-any connectivity”, i.e. does the Service allow calls across networks to and from any parties, or are calls restricted in some way, e.g. between a group of “peers”?
  
  
• If the VOIP Service does qualify as a standard telephone service, is the provider exempt from complying with the CSG Standard in relation to this service? ACMA’s website contains information about exemption processes at http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_2017.
  
  See also the TIO's position statement, Mass Service Disruptions at http://www.tio.com.au/POLICIES/CSG/Mass%20Service%20Disruptions.htm

If the TIO finds that a VoIP service is equivalent to a standard telephone service, and the provider is not exempt from complying with the CSG Standard in relation to this service, the customer is likely to be eligible for financial compensation under the Standard.

If we find that the service is not equivalent to a standard telephone service, or the provider is exempt from complying with the CSG Standard in relation to this service, compensation under the CSG Standard will not be payable.

Created: 17 March 2008