The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) will be holding the telecommunications industry to new standards regarding 1800 and 1300 numbers, beginning from January next year (2015). After the deadline, all calls to 1800 numbers from mobiles will be free of charge and all 1300 numbers will be more closely regulated to ensure that they charge fair and affordable rates.
Many Australians may not even realise that 1800 calls are not free when made from a mobile device. That they shortly will be is not so much an exciting change as it is one that should have happened a long time ago. Even so, it’s still good to see that it finally has, and that the 1800 prefix – a prefix that was always intended to denote the absence of fees and charges – will finally be living up to its name.
1300 numbers have also been an issue. This time the original intention is to signify a low-cost number, typically used for government services like Centrelink that help to support low-income families. In fact, according to ACCAN, these numbers can currently charge between 3 cents to $1.39 per minute when accessed via mobile.
If you’ve ever called a government service you’d know that they rarely handle things with an excess of efficiency. $1.39 per minute is easily enough to burn through a prepaid phone plan in very short order, leaving the user without phone access until they have found to money to recharge their plan.
“ACCAN will continue to monitor the cost of 13/1300 numbers to ensure the industry remains true to its promises. Even as we acknowledge the progress made on this issue, we’ll be calling on business and government to switch to 1800 numbers when deciding how best to communicate with consumers and citizens.
“We urge consumers to look for alternate means when making mobile calls to business and government. Use local numbers, websites and apps and – from January 2015 - use 1800 numbers.”
Source: ACCAN
Alex Angove-Plumb
Digital Content Editor
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