From public service to services to the public: Inventing telecommunications consumers

The paper opens with the PMG as provider of a service to the public. Against the backdrop of a more competitive regime, consumer participation in telecommunications develops with the establishment of TACC and CTN, and later, funding for consumer representation by the Government. With two issues - the consumer contracts code and mobile premium services issue, the strains on industry self-regulation and existing representations structures are evident. With the establishment of a new peak consumer body ACCAN, and renewed support from Government and the regulator, new understandings of the limits of industry self-regulation may be reached.