TRAI Ruling On Pesky SMS Justified: IAMAI

The multiple recent rulings on banning of pesky & unwanted SMS from telemarketers is justified, feels The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had come down heavily on such firms that were bending rules to get across marketing SMSes.

These telemarketers have long been grossly violating the sanctity & privacy of mobile users. Even when TRAI had banned such practices & laid down strict protocols, telemarketing agencies were re-routing SMSes from servers based outside India, thereby exploiting the loophole. Fortunately, TRAI seems to have plugged these holes & people registered to the National Consumer Preference Register (NCPR) can heave a sigh of relief. This safeguard against unwanted & unsolicited SMSes was earlier known as Do Not Disturb (DND) Register.

SMSes have always been the cheapest form of advertisement. Millions of such short worded brand messages could be bought & send to subscribers for a few thousand rupees. Though the efficacy of this method has long remained a mystery, these surely create awareness about the brand, product or service being promoted.

Thanks to messaging applications on smartphones that rely on the internet path, this decades-old communication technology is finding fewer takers. In fact, telecom companies are losing billions yearly due to the reduced usage. Perhaps such a loss could have prompted some telecommunication companies to sell their subscriber lists to such unscrupulous agencies.

Fortunately, most of the large companies have signed a self-restricting Code of Conduct, which clearly highlights the Dos & Don’t of SMS based marketing. Though IAMAI has welcomed the iron-handed behavior of TRAI for the common benefit of Indian mobile subscribers, these law-abiding SMS marketing companies are reeling under a new hike in rates of Application to Peer (A2P) SMSes by the telecom service providers. Apparently citing some obscure TDSAT ruling (Airtel Vs Tata Teleservices), all the telecom companies have hiked the rates by almost 10 to 15 times as compared to the previous rates.

While legitimate service providers are burdened by the steep hike in charges, it is a solace that IAMAI & such marketing firms have stayed true to their word. The question now is shouldn’t telecom companies work in synergy with these agencies & come to an amicable pricing structure?

Image Courtesy |  iamwire

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