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Price fraud and false advertising in the first three months of the year led to the punishment of 541 short message service (SMS) operators in the mobile communication sector, the Ministry of Information Industry disclosed on Monday.
An effort was, launched at the beginning of the year to tackle problems related to complaints by SMS subscribers. Now, 89 categories of SMS-related services involving 4.28 million yuan (US$528,400) have been suspended or cancelled, the ministry said.
Operators have been urged to return any illegal fares they charged to mobile phone users, and the ministry reiterated that SMS operators would face shutdowns for price fraud and false advertising.
The inspection of charges by telecommunications enterprises was listed as a top priority this year, and the ministry started another campaign last Wednesday to regulate SMS prices across the country.
SMS operators are being asked to inform subscribers about charges of each product, especially in popular business of specialized ringtones. Anyone who wants to report SMS problems may dial 12300 or visit the ministry's website.
A ministry report released last week showed that mobile phone users in China reached 404 million by the end of last month, which means there were 3 mobile phones for every 10 people.
SMS volume in China recorded a 47 per cent growth in the first quarter of this year, reaching 98.8 billion, the report said. Each second, 12,700 short messages are sent.
Meanwhile, messages that have illegal contents or hidden charges are on the rise as well. The Ministry of Public Security launched a nationwide crackdown on illegal mobile phone messages last November, and handled more than 110,000 cases of illegal messages by the end of last year.
Messages that dupe users into turning over personal or financial information, or involve prostitution, gambling, underground lotteries or offer criminal services are illegal, according to Wu Heping, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security.
He said in a ministry press briefing last month that effort would be carried on this year. He also reminded mobile phone users to dial 110 to report illegal messages.
(China Daily 05/04/2006 page2)