"We will make sure providers are playing fair in the sandpit and not just grabbing money out of subscribers," Brooks said. "We're still working out what needs to be done and are at the cusp of working out the requirements."

Describing the regulatory environment as an "alphabet soup", Brooks stressed the need to plan ahead because "the industry realizes there is a tidal wave coming so we don't want the industry filled with crushed business models because something crucial was forgotten in between".

"The number of providers is growing and not all are going to give you the same experience," he said. "In the IP telephony world we now have the service provider for the telephony portion separated from the network access provider. And often in a residential environment there is no contractual link between the two."

In addition to the ACIF, ACMA, and TIO, the Department of Communication IT and the Arts is responsible for overall policy and regulation.

"DCITA looks after legislation that filters down to service providers," Brooks said. "DCITA's recommendations are that VOIP providers disclose limitations, for example many don't have DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency) so no phone banking. So there is a requirement for service providers to tell people up front."