KATHMANDU, AUG 11 -Last week, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) received a complaint about an unsolicited SMS of a movie clip.“I’ve got something to show you,” read another SMS circulated recently among Nepal Telecom (NT) mobile users that contained a link of a website that claimed to offer video message service.
These are some of the examples of unwanted messages, or SMS spam, being sent to mobile users. From requests to like a Facebook page, advertisement of international websites to marketing SMSs, mobile users’ inboxes are flooded with spam messages these days. However, the NTA has failed to regulate SMS spam effectively.
Generally, telecom companies and third-party value added service (VAS) providers having agreement on short-code with operators send SMS to mobile users. Messages sent by telecom companies and/or VAS providers which customers didn’t agree to receive while subscribing to the service, and messages that are not about similar products or services offered by telecom companies are considered spam.
After the growth in the number of mobile users, the number VAS providers and types of mobile VAS services have also increased. Last year, although the regulator urged the Ministry of Information and Communications to devise an effective mechanism for VAS content regulation, the work has not made any headway.
Circulation of SMS has become an easy tool for marketing, according to the NTA. It has been difficult for the regulator to keep tabs on unsolicited SMSs, as the messages can also be sent through new techniques using the gateway of local carriers as well as international numbers.
VAS providers have subscribed more than 100 short codes. Upon sending a request in such short code via SMS, customer gets a variety of services in reply. For example, a mobile user avails weather, foreign exchange and daily horoscope service through 2722 short code.
SMS spams are not just another message, but are also found to be linked with SMS fraud. A few months ago, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police arrested four persons, including two foreign nationals, for their involvement in sending fake text messages. The SMS circulated among mobile users stated the receivers had won a lottery and requested them to send name, mobile number and email to claim the prize.
“We recently received a complaint about an SMS of unwanted movie clip,” said Arjun Ghimire, deputy director at the NTA. He said the authority will call a meeting this week with telecom companies and discuss stopping the circulation of such unsolicited messages.
Nepal Telecom Spokesperson Guna Kesari Pradhan said that spam SMSs could have reached among some customers because of the negligence of VAS providers and people involved in the International Revenue Sharing Fraud. Pradhan said they were preparing to hold a meeting with VAS providers on the issue.
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