About Peter Moon

Peter Moon is a commercial lawyer with 20 years experience in the tech and telco industries.
Author Archive | Peter Moon

Exetel CEO John Linton dies

By on 2 February 2012 in Uncategorized

Exetel’s CEO John Linton died yesterday, and CSP Central joins with the telco industry in acknowledging his contribution to the sector.

Opinionated, outspoken, uncompromising and unrelenting, Linton was never reticent in letting the rest of us know what he thought.  But love or hate some of his opinions, he built a successful telco (with a fiercely loyal staff and customer base) in remarkably quick time, contributed to debate at many levels, and was a major benefactor of Australia’s wildlife and environment through Exetel’s generous donations to community-based programs to protect endangered species and regenerate natural environments.

Exetel’s slogan … ‘Helping make a better world’ … would be corny in the mouths of most other telcos.  But Linton meant it and lived it.

Linton suffered a major stroke in the afternoon and passed away during the evening, surrounded by family.

Vale, JL.

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Draft TCP Code takes a beating

By on 12 January 2012 in ACCC, ACMA, Australian Consumer Law, Code compliance, New laws, Telecommunications Act

The jungle drums are sending negative messages about the new TCP Code proposed by Communications Alliance.  If the rumours are correct, ACMA is on the verge of refusing to register the draft Code, opting for more aggressive legislative regulation of the telco industry instead.

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Mythbuster: ‘Entire agreement’ clauses lock out misrepresentation claims

By on 11 January 2012 in ACCC, Australian Consumer Law, Competition and Consumer Act, Making sense of contracts, Mythbusters, Trade Practices Act

People are often confused about the effect of clauses that say ‘You acknowledge that we have made no other promises or representations to you.’

Often you see such clauses quoted in support of an argument that a claim for misrepresentation cannot succeed where a contract contains this clause.

But that ain’t necessarily so.  In fact, it ain’t even normally so.

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ACCC executes perfect hit on Telstra, Optus and Vodafone

By on 15 September 2009 in advertising, Trade Practices Act

obeyAfter months of secret negotiations, Telstra, Optus & Voda have rolled over and ‘offered’ ACCC a court enforceable undertaking … equivalent to court injunctions … to stamp out false advertising in the broadband and telephony industry.

When legal advisers warn second and third tier telcos and ISPs about advertising content, the single most common retort is ‘Telstra gets away with it’ and ‘We saw an Optus ad like that’ and ‘But Voda says the same thing’.

It’s a pretty good argument.  If the giants can do it, why can’t we ?

No mistake, this is the biggest telco-truth-in-advertising hit ever landed by the national regulator.  Like all good commando raids, it seemed to come from nowhere.  Only yesterday morning did rumours start to circulate that ‘something big’ was coming out of Canberra in the next 24 hours.

If Tiers 2, 3 & 4 don’t get their act together now, they can’t complain they’re being picked on.  And ACCC has made sure that Telstra, Optus & Voda are motivated to keep their networks honest.

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Senate Committee rubber stamps draft unfair contracts law

By on 13 September 2009 in New laws, Trade Practices Act

approvedThe Senate Standing Committee on Economics has received, and noted, strong submissions that part of the proposed new unfair contracts law can’t be right. 

But so what ?  The Committee majority finds no fault with the reasoning of law Professor Frank Zumbo, or the Consumer Action Law Centre … but it has still rubber stamped the Bill, virtually guaranteeing its passage into law.

And yes, the problem wording is the part we described as the Bill’s ‘bonkers bit’ back in June 2009.  It’s disappointing that the Senate Committee system hasn’t been able to deliver a sensible outcome.

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Chariot fined $10,000 for failing to lodge eligible revenue return

By on 9 September 2009 in ACMA, Telecommunications Act

aussie-bucksOK, that’s a March 2006 headline, but it makes the point:  failing to comply with the approaching 28 September deadline for carriers to lodge their annual Eligible Revenue Return is not a good idea.

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ISPs: Be careful what you say to media about copyright case

By on 5 September 2009 in copyright, iiNet Case

secretOnline tech magazine IT News could have inadvertently lured ISPs into legal disaster with a recent article on copyright issues. 

By publishing broadband provider comments about legal advice they may have obtained, the mag could have led them to waive the right to keep the details secret.

It’s vital for CSPs to understand the risk they may create if they publicly refer to legal advice they have received.

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Web Ace aced by ACMA

By on 4 September 2009 in Code compliance, Telecommunications Act

565459_vampireThe Australian Communications and Media Authority has flexed its Telecommunications Act muscles against ISP Web Ace, directing it to comply with the billing rules under the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code.

Web Ace is the trading name of Jason Kenneth McKay of Perth, WA.  ACMA says that McKay has been extracting payments from customer credit cards without authority, and failing to refund.

The issue was first publicised on Whirlpool, the Australian internet users’ town square.  In May 2008, Whirlpool user ‘yabbitboy’ posted:

I am signed up to webace’s email only plan ( $60 a year ), I get unauthorized billings by webace 4 times already, 4*$60. I had contacted them by email – never got replied and also tried contacting them by phone – I do speak to them by person to person but they said they are ‘busy’ and say they will call me back which is *******.

ACMA has now used its power to direct McKay not to extract payments without issuing a bill and in accordance with customer authorisation.

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Bank of Queensland finances telco scam

By on 2 September 2009 in advertising, Trade Practices Act

1151304_no_liesFinance companies are racing against time to squeeze money out of Australian small businesses before a major Federal Court case shows that their contracts are unenforceable.

Two separate groups of telco companies promoted the notorious telco equipment / finance / servces bundling scam that has cheated businesses of millions of dollars, saddling them with massive debt for goods and services never supplied.  One of these groups has been taken to court by ACCC, which is determined to smash its illegal conduct.

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SMS spammers suffer ‘no show’ judgment

By on 19 August 2009 in advertising, Spam Act

five-blanksWe reported in January 2009 that ACMA had launched legal action against a bunch of companies and individuals alleged to be involved in an illegal SMS spam racket.

Five of the respondents to the Federal Court action have failed to take necessary procedural steps, and the Court has agreed to ACMA’s application for default judgments.  After hearing evidence about the defaults and the original conduct, the Court has ordered:

  • that parties including Mobilegate Ltd, Winning Bid Pty Ltd, Simon Anthony Owen, Tarek Andreas Salcedo and Glenn Christopher Maughan have breached the Spam Act and / or Trade Practices Act in various ways;
  • that they be restrained from certain conduct, of the kind involved in the scam, for seven years; and
  • the matter be re-listed for directions in relation to any penalty hearing as the above respondents on 18 September 2009.

The case against other respondents, who have defended the case, continues.

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