Telecommunications Bill to address false advertising

Sanctions will be put in place for telecommunications companies that are found guilty of what the minister responsible for that sector described as “false advertising”.
Telecommunications Minister Melford Nicholas said a new bill soon to be tabled before Parliament will guard against “just that”.
There have been claims that some companies overmarket their products and that their services fail to meet the quality being advertised.
However, Nicholas told a Cabinet press briefing this week that the bill will ensure that telecommunication providers do not publish or advertise facilities that they are not able to provide.
He said the current laws make no provisions to address that concern, but under the new act, telecommunications companies will be compelled to ensure that customers receive exactly what is being marketed.
“We do not have the legislative cover to do anything about it at this moment, but certainly under the new regulations consumers will be protected,” the minister said.
He added that the new law will provide room for “slip-ups”, but that the providers should maintain a 90 per cent (customer satisfaction) mark.
He pointed out that there will be several other parts in the new law geared towards consumer protection.
The minister said government is confident that they have done everything to ensure that the new bill addresses all the current concerns within the telecoms market.
“I am 100 per cent satisfied that we have completed all of the work and upon the resumption of the legislation agenda, I will push for a second and third reading of the bill so we can get this done as quickly as possible,” he added.