CFA member ACCAN is celebrating a major step forward in its campaign for fair calls following an announcement today that the telco regulator, the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) will put an end to the high cost of 1800 and 13 calls from mobiles.
The ACMA has plans to alter what’s known as the “Numbering Plan” so that calls from mobile phones to 1800 numbers will be free and 13 numbers will be a low fixed charge as they are from land lines and pay phones.
ACCAN says at present these calls are charged rates of up to $1.78 per minute from mobiles, with the business or organisation at the other end also paying telcos for the cost of the calls.
“This is a very significant step forward towards fair calls for mobile users,” said ACCAN Director of Policy Elissa Freeman. “Calls to 13 and 1800 numbers are often essential, for example contacting your energy provider, the tax office, Centrelink, roadside assistance and crisis lines, to name just a few of the 291,000 FreeCall or Local Rate numbers.
Fair Calls for All is a campaign run by ACCAN and Financial Counselling Australia supported by CFA
Read more detail on ACCAN’s web site.
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