Iran Communications Regulatory Authority said on Wednesday it has blocked close to 198,000 phone numbers of advertisement senders since November 2017 to curb annoying text messages.
CRA's website shows that the fight against ad senders is still underway and 197,990 SIM cards have so far been blocked for bombarding people with unsolicited text messages.
Authorities at the oversight body are of the opinion that the battle against such ad senders is far from over, as new companies join the bandwagon of continuing publicity campaigns.
Majid Haqqi, a deputy head at CRA, said the cost of sending mass advertisements through text messaging is still very low compared to other means of commercial promotion.
CRA aims to curb such adverts by cracking down on firms using this indiscriminate mode of publicity. It has initiated legal actions against such companies and managed to reduce the number of such ads considerably.
"People can complain against such ad senders by simply forwarding their phone numbers through an automated system," Haqqi said.
“They can simply send the ad senders’ number to 195 and the regulator will block the number after issuing a warning.”
Haqqi noted that the authority has blocked nearly 3,000 numbers in the first week of launching the system, but concerted efforts are required to verify and block them effectively.
Complaints in Detail
According to CRA, some 65,000 million complaints against ad senders have been received in the past eight months to mid-November, accounting for only 15% of all cases registered with the authority.
Haqqi highlighted the fact that the number of complaints has been increasing constantly over the past several years.
"In 2012, before a countermeasure had been set to block e annoying ad senders, CRA received around 1,300 complaints on various issues in communication services," he said, adding that the figure almost doubled in 2014 and jumped to 61,000 in 2018.
Elaborating on the nature of most complaints in the past eight months, Haqqi said about 29% of all cases were about fixed-line communication issues, including telephony and landline internet.
Quality of services in general, including landline telephony and internet, mobile network and data coverage, comprises 19% of all complaints received by CRA.
Haqqi further said poor mobile network coverage was the subject of 26% of dissatisfied subscribers.
Different Regions, Different Demands
The official noted that detailed studies of the registered complaints show citizens in particular areas of the country raise different types of concerns about communication services.
Haqqi said this indicates that people’s priorities differ depending on their place of residence.
"For instance, people living in the border cities of the western part of the country are mostly concerned about mobile network and data roaming. This is while people in metropolises like Tehran, Yazd, Isfahan and Alborz care mostly about customer services and support," he said.
Haqqi recommended major mobile operators to identify and remove shortcomings in their services to increase customer satisfaction.
Evaluation System
In an effort to provide adequate services to communication and internet subscribers, an evaluation system has been launched to give subscribers the opportunity to analyze and assess operators.
The system, called Faradid, is a website presenting a detailed analysis and ranking of mobile operators and their services.
Besides subscribers, the website also benefits operators in different ways. By monitoring the analytical data provided on the website, mobile operators will be able to observe their status, maintain their strong points and remove inadequacies.
Haqqi said the system helps promote competitiveness among mobile operator companies, compelling them to offer more efficient services.
The ICT Ministry launched the website in late August. However, its data center is yet to become operational. CRA officials say the website will be available for the general public in a couple of months.
