Cellular Code of Conduct
On Tuesday the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) released a new ‘code of conduct’ that will theoretically govern how wireless carriers will behave vis a vis their subscribers, which number over 23 million in Canada.
On the face of it, the code of conduct sounds good. Part of the 3 page document includes allowing customers out of their contracts if, at any point, the carrier has made changes to said contract. I’m sure most long time mobile users are used to such shenanigans, where fees start creeping up, or there’s some new charge added to their bill. Now, you’ll be able to get out of such ‘billing creep’ with no penalty. Optionally, you can refuse the increased charges.
Of course, either party to a legally binding contract shouldn’t have the right to change it mid-stream without clearly notifying the other party (and getting them to approve). When I say clearly, I mean it in it’s dictionary definition, not in the Bell or Rogers tradition which means obfuscated and poorly defined.
Even though the major wireless carriers in Canada have signed onto the ‘code of conduct’, I suspect that the major impetus behind releasing it is to stave off federal regulation. Just like internet services, Canada pays more for less in the mobile world than average, and carriers surely don’t want to see that disappear.
Of course, there’s other reasons…
Previously unreported, however, is that Industry Canada officials identified the same problem and worked for years to develop an online tool to address it.
After spending tens of thousands of dollars creating and testing an online calculator designed to help consumers select their ideal wireless plan, Industry Minister Tony Clement killed the project weeks before it was scheduled to launch. [ED Note: the project was called “Which Cell Plan? A Calculator” and started by the Office of Consumer Affairs]
Government records suggest intense lobbying this spring by Canada’s wireless companies, who feared the service would promote lower-cost plans, played a key role in the decision. [via The Toronto Star]
That the feds have sided with the industry instead of consumers comes as no surprise. Now that tens of thousands of tax-payers dollars have been spent, all for naught, what is to happen with this online tool?
Since we all paid for it, I say open source the code. It does, after all, belong to the public.
“Optionally, you can refuse the increased charges.”
Psst. Hey you wanna pay more on the same contract? Oh… no? Never mind then… you have just ‘opted out’ of being roughly assfucked without provocation — thanks for letting us know your preference for not paying more for no reason! We might never have guessed your intentions otherwise. P.S. Yes, that’s right, we’re all fucking weasels.
Amen. These industry ‘associations’ are usually nothing more than publicity fronts. SOME of the major media just reported it straight up, without questioning the why and when of it.
They can’t even write a code of conduct that *sounds* ethical — that is how divorced they are from being an honest business.
333125 970107When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get three emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service? Bless you! 849876