The ACCC has called for a review of the telecommunications industry regulation, calling it outdated and not fit for purpose.

ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard (pictured below) made the call at yesterday’s Australian Communications Consumer Action Network conference.

“Much of the regulatory structure around telcos is now outdated,” Rickard said, pointing out how it was drafted in the 90s, when Telstra (then Telecom) was being privatised and the industry opened up to competition.

“It isn’t providing the right incentives in the 21st century,” she said.

“The focus needs to shift to ensure the right players are in the market, and that the crooks are out”.

Rickard said the ACCC, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, and ACCAN are in agreement that “the framework isn’t fit for purpose”, due in part to “the bulk of consumer protections being in codes written by the industry”.

This, Rickard said, gives the carriers carte blanche to behave poorly.

The ACCC is hopeful that, with a new government, these regulations will be overhauled.