New Consumer Regulation: What changes for providers

Anatel published this Monday, September 1st, the update of the General Consumer Rights Regulation (RGC). This change brings modernized rules for the relationship between service providers and customers. For internet providers and operators, the focus now is on transparency, agility, and quality. The market needs to adapt quickly to ensure compliance and avoid sanctions. The following text details the main points that directly impact the operational and administrative routine of your provider.

Transparency and the Standard Label

One of the highlights of the new regulation is the requirement for clarity in commercial offers. The RGC now institutes the mandatory nature of the Standard Label. This document must present the main characteristics of each offered plan in a simplified manner. The objective is for the consumer to understand exactly what they are contracting.

For the provider, this means reviewing all sales materials. The website, contracts, and commercial proposals must contain clear information. Technical language must be translated for the end consumer. It is necessary to detail speeds, caps, and limits objectively. Lack of clarity can generate fines and increase the rate of complaints. Transparency is not only a rule but a retention strategy.

Adjustment and Loyalty Rules

The new RGC kept important rules that were already known, but reinforced their application. The prohibition of adjustments with less than 12 months of contract remains valid. This offers stability to the consumer and requires rigorous financial planning by the operators. You cannot increase the price before one year, except in specific situations provided for in the contract.

Another critical point is the migration of offers at the end of the contractual period. The rule is now strict. Automatic migration can only occur if the consumer does not manifest themselves beforehand. Furthermore, the new offer must be similar to the previous one. Most importantly, the migration cannot impose a new loyalty period. The provider needs to pay attention to billing systems. Renewals cannot include loyalty clauses without explicit consent. The customer's silence cannot be used as a commercial advantage.

Default and Service Availability

The regulation brings greater clarity regarding the suspension of services in case of default. The novelty is allowing the consumer to choose the availability of the service according to their need and payment capacity. In practice, this requires the provider to offer options for partial or gradual suspension.

You need to review your billing and suspension flows. It is no longer enough to cut the signal completely after a few days of delay. The customer must have the option to maintain some level of service, such as a reduced speed or only voice, until regularizing the situation. This requires that the SoftSwitch and the BSS be configured to manage differentiated suspension profiles. Flexibility here is fundamental to avoid conflicts and maintain the relationship with the customer even in moments of financial difficulty.

Compensation and Oversight

The RGC strengthened Anatel's oversight mechanisms. The rules are now stricter in situations of failures or service interruptions. The big impact for the provider is the requirement for faster compensation. When there is an interruption, the customer must be reimbursed quickly and automatically, without needing to request it.

This directly impacts the network management area (NOC). Precision in monitoring failures becomes essential. Your system needs to record the start and end of each interruption with accuracy. Errors in these measurements can result in payments of incorrect indemnities or administrative processes. Automation is the best ally. Monitoring software integrated with the billing system ensure that credits are applied in the next invoice without manual intervention. Agility in service and demand resolution is a goal that must be pursued by the entire technical team.

What the provider needs to do now

With the regulation in effect, immediate action is necessary. The first step is to perform a gap analysis. Analyze your current processes compared to the new requirements. Check your contracts and commercial policies. Ensure there are no clauses that allow early adjustments or unwanted automatic loyalty.

Next, adjust the support and billing infrastructure. Your management system needs to support the new rules of suspension and compensation. Train your service team. Operators must know how to explain the Standard Label and service options in case of default. The technical team must be aligned on the importance of precise network uptime data for compensation purposes.

Conclusion

The new RGC is a sign of modernization in the sector. Anatel seeks to align rules with new technological and consumption realities. For providers, this represents an operational and management challenge. However, it is also an opportunity. Providers that offer transparency and quality stand out in the competition. Adapting to these rules should not be seen only as compliance with the law, but as an evolution in the business model. This is the moment to review processes, invest in technology, and ensure that the customer experience is the differentiator of your provider.