Telcos will be forced to simplify advertising, plans, and bills under a new regulatory code submitted by the Communications Alliance yesterday.

However, the code submitted by the Communications Alliance – which represents more than 100 Australian telecommunication companies and groups – was rejected by one group on the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) board.

A spokesperson for the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) said that the code had failed to meet ACMA's five recommendations and that the "industry as a whole just wasn't able to make the major changes that were necessary to once and for all fix customer and complaint handling across the telco industry". The code will now go under more stringent review.

Under the submitted code, there will be a major attempt to provide enough information that customers know exactly what they're signing up for, and don't get a terrible shock when they receive their first bill.

Some of the suggested submissions include new information to be displayed more prominently in advertisements, such as the cost for making two-minute calls on mobiles (as this is a more realistic call time than the standard one minute call), the cost for 1MB of data on phones, and the cost for sending an SMS in Australia. There will also be general avoidance of using terms like "unlimited" and a move to highlight average download speeds rather than peak download speeds.

There will also be better "spend management tools", which will allow customers to access their account and view their monthly usage throughout the month, and increased security and monitoring for credit and debt management that will avoid shock around notifications of payments due, failed credit checks, and accounts being passed onto collection agencies.

If the code passes under the second review by ACMA, it will be implemented within the next few months. It is as of yet unclear what further modifications or specifications ACCAN would enforce upon telcos, though ACCAN spokesperson Elise Davidson said: "This was the industry's last chance to avoid regulation and we don't believe the ACMA will be able to register this code, which may mean that the days of industry self-regulation are over."

While we wait for those clearer standards to come in, give Compare Mobile Plans a call on 1300 106 571 to get simple, honest, and impartial advice about the best plan to suit you – or look through some of our featured cap plans or prepaid plans yourself.

And what would you personally like to see telcos address to make your sign-up process more equitable? What do you need to know to be more informed about the plan you're signing up for? Leave us your answers and suggestions in the comments!