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September 04, 2005
SMS Major Headache for Governments in Developing Countries
Asian goverments are cracking down on SMS services that has become a powerful communication tool for consumers. SMS is used to organise protests, generate rumours, aid in crime and, possibly trigger bombs requiring least resources.
In developing countries such as Bangladesh, most cell phone users are faceless because they use pre-paid phone cards. Due to low risks from careers' perspectives and desire to control telephone related expenses by poor, users pre-paid services are gaining marketshare in third world countries.
In fact pre-paid cards are turning Asia into the fastest-growing telecom market, making up about 60 per cent of users in China and over 90 per cent in Indonesia and the Philippines at end-2004, according to Gartner.
Combined with pre-paid services SMS text messaging via cell phones provides an even more economical means of communicating. SMS messaging market is seeing exponential growth in Asia. Over 200 million SMS messages are sent across in the Philippines today.
Thailand moved to register users of pre-paid phones in May, claiming it as part of initiatives to stop terrorists using mobile phones to set off bombs. Malaysia asked phone companies to register all holders of pre-paid services after text-messaging gossip-mongers spread a rumor claiming the premier's ailing wife had died. Similar registration requirements are imposed on pre-paid services in China and other parts of Asia to curb terrorism and in certain cases imposing control of public media by governments.
Posted by admin at September 4, 2005 08:00 AM