Telco Ombudsman welcomes service continuity review

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Simon Cohen has welcomed a review by the telco industry designed to help customers stay connected if their service provider goes into administration.

The review of telco service continuity agreements, announced by Communications Alliance today, is a step in the right direction, Mr Cohen said.

"The unfortunate events of the past two weeks have left thousands of consumers and small businesses suddenly disconnected from phone and internet services," the Ombudsman said.

"Telecommunications is an essential service for all Australians and it’s a positive sign that industry is looking at what it can do to make sure consumers are not disconnected through no fault of their own."

The review was launched following the collapse of iBoss, AsiaPac and One Telecom, and separately, Conec2.

The TIO has been contacted by more than 1,300 affected consumers in the past two weeks.