Isps Refute Business Side Of Tio Ltd
The Age
Tuesday May 23, 2000
A CORE support of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman's structure will be tested in the Federal Court next month. Two New South Wales Internet service providers are being taken to court by the Australian Communications Authority for allegedly refusing to join the TIO.
The ISPs say they are willing to join the regulatory scheme, but unwilling to become members of the operating company, TIO Limited.
The TIO is the main forum for users' complaints against their service providers and telecommunications companies.
Members are billed under the articles of incorporation of TIO Limited when they are the subject of complaints, providing an important part of the TIO's funding.
The two ISPs, Albury Local Internet and Viper Communications, have appointed Australian Internet veteran and sometime activist Adam Todd as a ``consultant" and are seeking to have him help represent them in court, although he has no legal training.
Both Viper Communications (which trades as Viper.net) and Albury Local Internet say they cannot afford to appoint lawyers, and want to defend themselves.
Mark Russell, a director of Viper Communications, said he had tried repeatedly to join the TIO scheme, but had been rejected.
He and several other ISPs had amended the membership forms to remove references to joining TIO Ltd, he said.
``We don't care who it's run by, we (just) want to join the scheme."
Russell said there were concerns about possible liability and under-representation if Viper.net were to join the actual TIO company.
He said he believed the pressure for ISPs to join the company as well as the scheme stemmed mainly from the TIO itself.
Todd said the separate defences would raise several issues, including the constitutional validity of the ACA's action, the question of unincorporated companies being required to join a corporation, and the fee structure of the TIO.
The dissenting ISPs and Todd claim that between 60 and 100 ISPs, many of whom are also non-joiners of the TIO, have offered moral support.
``They want to do some butt-kick; they are really not happy with the TIO, especially the open-cheque policy," Todd said.
``The legislation itself doesn't say that you have to join a company." Todd said he believed up to 30 other ISPs had been ``referred" to the ACA by the TIO, meaning they could also face court action.
The ACA has acted against the two companies separately, but a judge asked that procedural matters be dealt with together.
The ACA did not respond to questions about the cases last week. The telecommunications ombudsman, John Pinnock, was unavailable.
A half-day hearing has been scheduled for 27 June.
LINKS
www.tio.com.au
www.tio.sux.com
© 2000 The Age