Price fraud and false advertising in the first three months of the year led
to the punishment of 541 short message service (SMS) operators in the mobile
communication sector, the Ministry of Information Industry disclosed on Monday.
An effort was, launched at the beginning of the year to tackle problems
related to complaints by SMS subscribers. Now, 89 categories of SMS-related
services involving 4.28 million yuan (US$528,400) have been suspended or
cancelled, the ministry said.
Operators have been urged to return any illegal fares they charged to mobile
phone users, and the ministry reiterated that SMS operators would face shutdowns
for price fraud and false advertising.
The inspection of charges by telecommunications enterprises was listed as a
top priority this year, and the ministry started another campaign last Wednesday
to regulate SMS prices across the country.
SMS operators are being asked to inform subscribers about charges of each
product, especially in popular business of specialized ringtones. Anyone who
wants to report SMS problems may dial 12300 or visit the ministry's website.
A ministry report released last week showed that mobile phone users in China
reached 404 million by the end of last month, which means there were 3 mobile
phones for every 10 people.
SMS volume in China recorded a 47 per cent growth in the first quarter of
this year, reaching 98.8 billion, the report said. Each second, 12,700 short
messages are sent.
Meanwhile, messages that have illegal contents or hidden charges are on the
rise as well. The Ministry of Public Security launched a nationwide crackdown on
illegal mobile phone messages last November, and handled more than 110,000 cases
of illegal messages by the end of last year.
Messages that dupe users into turning over personal or financial information,
or involve prostitution, gambling, underground lotteries or offer criminal
services are illegal, according to Wu Heping, spokesman for the Ministry of
Public Security.
He said in a ministry press briefing last month that effort would be carried
on this year. He also reminded mobile phone users to dial 110 to report illegal
messages.
(China Daily 05/04/2006 page2)
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