Telcos ask for phased introduction of CDR

The telecommunications industry has asked Treasury to allow a phased introduction of the Consumer Data Right (CDR), mirroring how the rollout took place in banking and energy.

Treasury is currently conducting a consultation into expanding the CDR to the telecommunications industry, and the Communications Alliance recently published [pdf] its submission, and as well as asking for time to phase-in compliance with the CDR, it would like implementation to be extended to two years.

In the banking sector, the submission stated, the four major banks were allowed to introduce CDR-compliant products over seven months; while in the energy sector, gas products were out-of-scope for the first version of the CDR.

The CDR's first phase in banking went live in 2020. 

The proposed rules, the Alliance explains, captures broad data about both consumers’ and small business’ fixed Internet and mobile products.

When combined with “heightened sensitivity around data breaches and data security”, the Alliance said, “we consider implementing the full obligations of CDR for telecommunications
in a single phase is likely impossible (or at least, very difficult) and very risky, especially if
the timeframe is only 12 months.”

In asking for longer for the telecommunications industry to comply, the Alliance pointed out that 12 months “did not prove to be sufficiently long for the banking sector and is highly unlikely to provide sufficient times for budgeting, execution and testing of IT and business process changes, and recruitment and training of staff in the telecommunications sector.”

The Alliance added that in rolling out the CDR, the industry first needs to create data standards.

“The length of time taken to make the data standards should also be carefully
considered in setting the timeframe for commencement, which has been an issue in
the application of CDR to the energy sector”, the submission stated.

The 12-month CDR implementation timeframe did not prove to be sufficiently long for
the banking sector and is highly unlikely to provide sufficient times for budgeting,
execution and testing of IT and business process changes, and recruitment and training
of staff in the telecommunications sector.

The submission asks for a more detailed definition of what data is to be covered by the CDR in the telecommunications sector, and that metadata be specifically excluded from collection under the CDR.

Consumers' “hightened sensitivity” is also behind the Alliance's call for a clearer definition of what data should be covered by the CDR. For example, the submission said, the Alliance has concerns about the data such as ‘payment method’ and a customer's eligibility for a product being included in the CDR.