Telecom operators unable to monitor post-paid users

Telecom operators are unable to monitor and block text and picture messages sent from post-paid connections as they don't have the technology to monitor and block them, even though they could successfully limit the number of messages to five for pre-paid users.

On Friday, the government had sought restricting SMSs and MMSs in to attempt to prevent rumours being spread following the Bodo-Muslim conflict in Assam.

The department of telecom had limited the total number of SMSs and MMSs per subscriber to five per day for the next 15 days. In addition, operators were also asked to block MMS of more than 25 KB.

In its letter, the Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) stated that there is no method available to check the number of messages on a real-time basis on pre-paid connections.

AUSPI, the body representing new operators and CDMA players, has also requested DoT, which is the licencor, to share any solution, if any, that could be quickly implemented by its member operators.

A similar letter was sent by the GSM operators' body, the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), on Monday to the telecom department.

According to industry sources, post-paid connections account for just five cent of the more than 950 million SIMs issued in the country
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Operators on an average get 15-18 per cent of revenue from SMS services, and a 15-day ban means they will lose around seven-eight per cent of revenue this month, estimates COAI.