Mobile users were a confused lot on Sunday, as rumours went back and forth on whether the curb on five SMSs being sent at one go had now been extended to a cap of five messages per day. Some said the cap applied only to pre-paid consumers, while others spoke of getting messages from their operator mentioning a government ban on sending more than five SMSs a day.
By the end of the day, however, it became clear that the government had on Sunday ordered that for the next 12 days, mobile users will not be able to send more than five SMSs/MMSs a day, carrying no more than 25 Kb of data. The step has been taken to deter the spread of rumours and hate messages of the kind that led to panic among people from the Northeast.
Sources within the mobile industry told TOI that Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cell, under the Department of Telecom, visited locations of all mobile operations on Sunday for strict action banning bulk SMSes. A senior telecom executive said the industry would lose about Rs 300 crore revenue due to the 15-day ban which began last Friday. "We have no option but to strictly implement the ban, with DoT actively following up on it," he said.
Earlier on Saturday, the government had directed telecom operator not to allow consumers to send more than five test messages/ MMSs at one go. But this not only failed to check spread of threats to people from the Northeast but had also ended up creating a communication hurdle for many consumers in Mumbai following a technical difficulty for operators in implementing it.
Confusion as government orders limit of 5 SMSs a day - Times Of India
By the end of the day, however, it became clear that the government had on Sunday ordered that for the next 12 days, mobile users will not be able to send more than five SMSs/MMSs a day, carrying no more than 25 Kb of data. The step has been taken to deter the spread of rumours and hate messages of the kind that led to panic among people from the Northeast.
Sources within the mobile industry told TOI that Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cell, under the Department of Telecom, visited locations of all mobile operations on Sunday for strict action banning bulk SMSes. A senior telecom executive said the industry would lose about Rs 300 crore revenue due to the 15-day ban which began last Friday. "We have no option but to strictly implement the ban, with DoT actively following up on it," he said.
Earlier on Saturday, the government had directed telecom operator not to allow consumers to send more than five test messages/ MMSs at one go. But this not only failed to check spread of threats to people from the Northeast but had also ended up creating a communication hurdle for many consumers in Mumbai following a technical difficulty for operators in implementing it.
Confusion as government orders limit of 5 SMSs a day - Times Of India