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The Commerce Commission wants telecommunications companies to improve transparency on pricing and coverage.
The commission's draft guidelines would require telcos to make it easier for consumers to compare with standardised coverage maps and pricing.
Telecommunications commissioner Tristan Gilbertson said mobile coverage maps were inconsistent between providers and difficult to compare.
"Coverage differences matter - especially for rural consumers or people travelling or commuting. Knowing what real-world coverage they can expect from different providers and technologies is important - especially with 5G roll-out and competition heating up."
The commission expected telcos to stand behind their coverage claims when things go wrong, Gilbertson said.
"When consumers run into real world coverage problems - compared with what's presented in computer generated coverage maps - they should be able to walk away from their service without penalty."
The guidelines also required providers to include a monthly average price in their broadband and mobile advertising to make it easier for consumers to compare offers.
"Our work shows that consumers find it easier to shop around when they know how much they'll be paying on average each month - so disclosing this upfront will reduce uncertainty and enable more meaningful comparison and choice," he said.
"Consumers find it difficult to navigate different combinations of billing terms, discounts, and promotions. We want providers to cut through the complexity by disclosing upfront how much consumers will pay each month for a particular deal."
Gilbertson said the commission had consulted extensively over the past year to identify areas where consumers needed better information.
"Comparison and choice are at the heart of competition - so we want to see providers stepping up to give consumers the information they need to make more confident and informed decisions."
The commission was now seeking views from industry and consumer group stakeholders on the draft guidelines.
Telcos, One NZ, Spark and 2Degrees, each said they supported transparency. All said they were working on a detailed response to the commission's call for feedback on the draft guidelines.
