In September of this year ACMA (Australian Communications & Media Authority) handed down its Reconnecting the Customer report. The report was based on a broad review of mobile phone plans and how they are promoted and communicated within the industry.
The report provides 6 key recommendations, most of which have to do withCap Plans and how the value within them is communicated. One of the 6 recommendations is showing the value of a cap in terms of how many 2 minute calls you can make based on the value offered. Eg $500 Cap with a call rate of 90c/min and a 40c flagfall equates to $2.20 per 2 minute call and a total of 227 calls.
I would like to think that maybe we contributed to this recommendation. Prepaid plans has been providing this metric for our readers for over 18 months now. We show you the cost of a 2 minute call plus how much it will cost you (minimum) to recharge for a whole year. Our Sim Only metric has always shown you exactly the number of calls that you can make (outside of free calls) within your Cap.
Another initiative from ACMA is SMS notifications when you are approaching your Cap limit.
The Telcos effectively have until February to comply or the recommendations will become legislation and they will need to comply.
