Mobile operators warned for ‘loose management’

Authorities have warned major mobile phone service providers like VinaPhone, MobiFone and Viettel over their loose management of message switchboards.

This has led to customers being swamped with spam messages and advertisements for several services like downloading ring tones, fortune telling, gambling and even “sexual consultancy”.

Many customers have lost money responding to messages said that they’d won prizes.

In a recent case, the Hanoi-based EMOBI JSC was found to have sent 800 messages each hour with content related to fortune telling and gambling.

The Ha Trung Communications JSC used prepaid sim cards to send messages to mobile phone users, receiving 58,000 replies that cost customers around VND877 million ($43,000), according to the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon).

Mobile service providers have themselves sent warning messages to their customers about attempts to cheat them.

However the number of switchboards has soared to around 1,000 as digital content companies look to take advantage of the lucrative returns they get from offering these “services”.

Service providers do not have much of an incentive in curtailing the actions of digital content firms because they earn 60 to 70 per cent of the revenues generated by customers’ responses.

Officials of the Ministry of Public Security tasked with fighting hi-tech crime say mobile phone service providers are responsible for the situation because they focus on profit and ignore other even illegal content that is sent to customers.

They said service providers should also be held responsible for the chaotic situation in managing prepaid sim cards.

The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications has already asked the providers to collect information from prepaid users, but this has had little effect so far. Currently, people can easily buy prepaid sims without registering their names.-VIR

Tags: ,

Posted by VBN on Jul 4 2011. Filed under Telecommunication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Stay informed everyday

Subscribe to free RSS and email updates from Vietnam Business News

Subscribe via Email Subscribe in a Reader Follow us on Twitter Connect on Facebook

RSS China Business News

  • Gold down by Rs 50, silver sheds Rs 200 on weak global cues
  • Both gold and silver declined in the national capital today
  • Silver climbed one per cent to USD 40.69 an ounce in the morning trade today
  • Gold for immediate delivery drops below $1,800 an ounce in London trading
  • Spot gold may fall to $1,759 -technicals
  • Gold eases as firmer dollar piles on pressure
  • Fiscal revenue up 34% in Aug.
  • Inflation turning point to come, but monetary tightening should continue: experts

Sponsored

Looking for an overseas forex broker?