London 23 July 2003. The GSM Association (GSMA), the trade association representing the world’s GSM mobile operators, today welcomed the European Commission’s recent initiative to combat ’spamming’. The GSMA agrees that the issue has global ramifications and therefore global solutions are needed to combat the problem.
’Spamming’ is the term given to the problem of unsolicited messages transmitted over a variety of electronic communications media. At present, the problem primarily affects fixed networks but with the success of text messaging over mobile networks – ‘SMS spam’ is beginning to gain a foothold in the mobile space.
“The problem and potential impact of spamming reaches far beyond European borders, and beyond SMS, as operators globally evolve and roll out the next generation of mobile data services such as Multimedia Messaging Service - MMS,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association. “Our board is looking very seriously at ways that our members can collectively combat this growing problem on a proactive, global basis.”
GSM Europe, the regional interest group of the GSM Association, agrees that the new EU provisions can help to limit the problem - if transposed in an effective and fair manner.
“Not only does spam irritate our customers,” said Kaisu Karvala, Chair of GSM Europe, “it also impinges on operators’ businesses by impacting their networks from a range of commercial and technical perspectives. Most critical of all is the negative impact it has on customer relations, as discontented customers often blame their operator for the inconvenience of spam-SMS.”
While welcoming the Commission’s initiative however, GSM Europe stresses the importance of balanced information to European consumers and businesses on the new EU rules to fight spam. Any campaign or action by the Commission and Member States directed to the general public should not only clarify the new opt-in obligations under article 13.1, but also the rights obtained by companies to market own, similar products and services (article 13.2).
Unless users and consumers are made aware of the idea behind the ‘soft opt-in’ regime the EU has adopted, legitimate marketing of companies’ own product and services could be perceived as unsolicited communications to the detriment of European companies.
Apart from various proactive efforts undertaken by individual GSME members to reduce spam in their mobile networks, GSM Europe is currently working on a Draft set of Recommendation on spamming in mobile networks which coincides with several of the issues raised by the Commission.
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About the GSM Association:
The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade association, which exists to promote, protect and enhance the interests of GSM mobile operators throughout the world. It consists of more than 567 second and third generation mobile operators and 129 manufacturers and suppliers. The Association's members currently provide mobile services to more than 879 million (end June) customers across 197 countries and regions around the world. The GSMA aims to accelerate the implementation of collectively identified, commercially prioritised operator requirements and to take leadership in representing the global GSM mobile operator community with one voice on a wide variety of issues nationally, regionally and globally.
The GSM family of wireless communications platforms, including GSM, GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution) and W-CDMA account for approximately 72 percent of the total digital wireless market today. The GSM Association is a unique organisation, with truly global reach, offering a full range of business and technical services to its members. For more information, visit the website at www.gsmworld.com.
The GSM Association’s Board comprises the following operator companies and multinational groups: AT&T Wireless Group; China Mobile; China Unicom; Hutchison Group; KT ICOM; Maxis Mobile; mmO2 Group; NTT DoCoMo, Inc.; Orange Group; Orascom Telecom Group; SFR Cegetel; SingTel Group; SUNDAY Communications Ltd; Taiwan Cellular; Telefónica Móviles Group; Telenor Mobile Group; TeliaSonera Group; TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) Group; T-Mobile Group; Turkcell and the Vodafone Group. The Board also includes the GSMA’s CEO and Chairman of the Executive Management Committee.
About GSM Europe
GSM Europe is the European interest group of the GSM Association, the premier global body behind the world's leading wireless communications standard. GSM Europe represents around 143 operators in 50 countries/areas in Europe and counts around 380 million subscribers. The GSM Association is responsible for the development, deployment and evolution of the GSM standard for digital wireless communications and for the promotion of the GSM platform. For more information, visit the website at www.gsmeurope.org.
Contact Information:
Kiki Walravens
Communications Manager
GSM Europe
Tel: +32 15 27 59 06
Fax: +32 15 27 03 21
Email: kwalravens@gsm.org
Liz Macfarlan
Communications Dept
GSM Association
Tel: +44 207 518 0533
Fax: +44 207 518 0531
Email: lmacfarlan@gsm.org