The irritating text message ads have compelled over 30 million people to file complaints with Iran’s Communications Regulatory Authority, calling on the ombudsman to do its duty and take action.
According to CRA Director Hossein Fallah, since November 2017, when an automated monitoring system for regulating advertisement messages was launched, over 30 million complaints have been registered.
Up until Tuesday, the regulatory body had suspended mobile phone numbers of some 24,000 ad senders, ICTNA reported.
Via the automated system, people can submit the ad sender's phone number to the ombudsman via text message. "People can send the ad senders' number to 195 or use the USSD code *800#," Fallah said.
After the regulator receives the complaints, it sends warnings to the advertising company to stop the unwanted text messages that many consider as spam. If the company refuses to comply, the number will be blocked.
Text message advertisement is becoming more common among companies and the reason is the cost of mass advertisement through text messages is significantly low and declining. The CRA is planning to curb the number of such ads by cracking down on firms indulging in the public nuisance.
The unwanted ads have always been an annoyance for cell phone users. To curb the pain, the CRA introduced the automated system ‘195’ to help subscribers get rid of the advertisements.
