Bulk SMS providers fret over Trai limit on number of messages

It is not just text-savvy teenagers who are unhappy with the 100-message a day limit on SMSes. Telemarketers and bulk SMS service providers are sulking over the new rule as businessmen have started to look out for alternative ways to promote their products and services. The Trai regulation limited SMS to 100 a day for prepaid connections and 3,000 for post-paid SIMs.

"SMS is a very effective way of promoting our product. However, after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) released new regulations, we will have to think of new ideas for publicity," says K Murthy, who deals in health products like sauna belts in Pondy Bazaar. Dealers like Murthy have been outsourcing publicity to telemarketers who have access to a large database of telephone numbers. These telemarketers charge as much as Rs 1000 for sending one lakh SMSes and Re 1 for 25 second voice calls.

To send bulk SMSes, telemarketers have to register themselves with Trai.

An official at Chennai SMS integra, a service provider that deals in both transactional and promotional messages, said revenue from promotional messages have come down over the last month. "Most customers pay us in advance. If a number is registered with the 'Do Not Call' registry, then the message gets rejected and we cannot charge our customers for it," she says.

Companies like Suninside, which used to provide these SMS and call services, have now decided to focus only on web hosting services instead. "In light of the new Trai regulations, we have not been providing bulk SMS services since the last month," said a company employee.

The same is true for voice calls too. P Jayakumar, who runs a telemarketing company, said at present customers pay around Re 1 for a 25 second phone call, which includes five seconds of ringing time. "As of now, we also offer telecalling services and companies can hire a telecaller for around Rs 15,000 per month and then pay charges per phone call. This revenue may also come down," he says.

However, a few telemarketers have found a way out. They are using foreign and private numbers to send these promotional messages using internet based messaging services and foreign or private telephone numbers. "These SMS cost a lot of money, charging as much as 10 paise per message," says the Suninside employee. However, many consumers continue to receive spam messages. To deal with this issue, Trai has announced that it will soon ask cellular mobile service providers to charge telemarketers 5 paise for every commercial SMS that is sent on its network. As telemarketers work on small profit margins, Trai believes that increasing the cost of sending messages will make the ban more effective.

As of now, for every non-solicited message or call received by a person registered on the 'do not call registry', service providers can be fined Rs 50,000 for the first violation, which can go up to Rs 2.5 lakh for the sixth offence. After that, they will be blacklisted for two years.

Ref:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Bulk-SMS-providers-fret-over-Trai-limit-on-number-of-messages/articleshow/10457824.cms