In an effort to put the lid on unfair trade practices, Australia's competition watchdog is formally approaching ISP's about their rights and responsibilities in cyberspace.
"We've had some problems," ACCC director of public relations, Lin Enright, told ZDNet.
And there continues to be emerging problems with "more and more ISPs coming in," she added.
Enright pointed to 'free' Internet service provider GoConnect, which could not meet the demands of consumers who registered for its free service last year.
"If offering free Internet connections, ISPs must ensure they comply with the consumer protection provisions of the Act," the ACCC said. "They are still bound even if the product is free."
Enright also highlighted Optus@Home, which advertised unlimited access "which wasn't [unlimited] basically," she said.
"As more high bandwidth services become available, the use of such policies will increase," the ACCC said. "But consumers need to have complete information about any limits that may apply to a service. Consumers must know exactly what they are contracting for before they sign up."
The ACCC is starting to see a rise in complaints.
"We've had a couple of hundred in the last few months alone."
The authority says it's taking an approach of "education before enforcement."
Fair.com, a publication which explains the rights and responsibilities of ISPs under the Trade Practices Act, will be available on the ACCC Web site from this week.
"We want to get out the information and make sure they don't make mistakes so that we don't have to intervene," she said.
