Pesky SMSes are back via global routes

To circumvent Trai regulations, tele-marketing companies are using international numbers as they are difficult to monitor.

After a brief spell of relief, tele-marketing texts have started hitting back mobile phone inboxes. Though many might argue that nothing has changed since, some say that a new breed of texts from international numbers with promotions and offers are addressed to local population.

Such tele-marketing SMSes have been observed from London numbers, as well as some from Africa, and even Dubai. “I was surprised to get an SMS from a London-based number. It was informing me about some local real estate offer in Mumbai,” said Sumit Bhatia, an MBA student.

According to new rigid tele-marketing norms by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which came into effect in September last year, only those mobile numbers which ask for such promotions, could be sent such SMSes. Though a number of mobile subscribers saw a substantial reduction in promotional texts for about a fortnight, the avalanche of such texts came back soon after.

But why use international numbers for re-routing them? Experts say that this is another method to circumvent the Trai regulations, which is not effective for international numbers and operators.

“These are international numbers, so to that extent, it is tough to catch them,” said Rajiv Hiranandani, co-founder, Mobile2Win, a mobile marketing company.

M S Kamath, the honorary secretary of the Consumer Guidance Society of India too believes that any such calls from international numbers cannot be under Trai’s ambit. “It might not be an offense there to send bulk SMSes,” he said.

The economics of sending such SMSes could also have an additional cost burden to the marketers. The bulk SMS rates of international numbers is much higher than that those which can be sent through Indian numbers.

“If a provider was sending SMSes to 20 million subscribers through Indian numbers, now he would be able to send it to only five million or lesser. These international SMSes would be sent only to targeted, premium possible customers,” said Hiranandani.

Due to the cost, the number of SMSes that will reach inboxes will be much lesser. “As per my personal experience, the number of promotional SMSes has come down drastically. The scale is not the same as it was before the Trai norms,” said Kamath.

The Consumer Guidance Society is working on methods to make it easier for consumers to register complaints on the services. “Currently, Trai asks to register a complaint if anyone breaks the norms. But that is very cumbersome. We are working on a way where a consumer can forward such SMSes to a common number,” said Kamath.