Phone spam has been on the increase for some time, and a recent global study on the problem indicates there will be no respite in the short- to medium-term.
The collaborative empirical study on mobile spam, conducted by the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, found that 80% of cellphone users have received unsolicited messages.
The objective of the study, done in conjunction with the International Telecommunications Union, was to analyse the differences in perception between consumers and the mobile network operators (MNOs) and assess how best to manage the problem.
"While there is no single solution to the mobile spam problem, there are a number of key components to any real solution," says Tom Phillips, government and regulatory affairs officer at the GSM Association.
"These include identifying the spammers by rejecting anonymous or spoofed access and by making them pay through clear and suitable charging mechanisms."
The survey was conducted in the last months of 2004 and includes results from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, the US, Singapore, China and Saudi Arabia.
Among the key findings were that spam has a negative impact on the MNO`s brand in the perceptions of consumers; the majority of complaints about spam are directed toward the MNO; and in addition, consumers perceive mobile marketing messages from MNOs as mobile spam.
Other findings included the fact that both consumers and mobile operators expect mobile spam to become more of a problem in the future, with 83% of industry respondents perceiving it to either be a critical issue today or at the very least within the next one to two years.
Phillips says both consumers and corporations see MNO self-regulation as the most important action that can be taken against spam, as customer-initiated actions are generally seen as being less effective.
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