The delivery of SMSes to users in South Africa via international gateways by local wireless application service providers (WASPs) has been causing havoc in the bulk SMS game for some time now; not only does it undercut local competition, it is also illegal.
Although these messages are sold cheaper (WASPA regulations have no bearing on international gateways) which naturally attracts more buyers, there are quite a few things that customers are not always aware of:
* These rogue operators deliver their services via networks without interconnect agreements. Once these agreements are in place, operators have to move on to the next network or face their messages being blocked by the networks. In the event that a network picks up on these operators they would block their messages.
* These provider's prices are very low - they don't have to pay anyone for their messages and if they have to pay, it is usually very little.
* The fact that their prices are so low creates an unfair advantage that undercuts the providers that are actually paying for their messages.
* South Africa and its mobile networks lose money because these operators are taking money out of the country and not paying our mobile operators a cent.
All of this is finally about to stop: Mobile networks have recently announced that they will now terminate, fine and withhold revenues from WASPs providing services through these operators, instead of just blocking their messages as in the past.
CEO of Integrat, leading South African WASP aggregator, had the following to say: "We fully support the mobile networks and will assist them where we can. This will increase service levels, and allow for fair play between WASPS. All legitimate WASPs need to work together on this, and report these operators to the mobile networks. It is easy to identify these players: If they sell SMS messages at below cost then it should raise suspicions. Also, always make sure your provider is a member of WASPA."
For further inquiries, please contact Integrat on 0861 222 767 or e-mail info@integrat.co.za
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