Hopefully, a global solution to mobile spam

Stuart Corner
Monday, 29 March 2010 11:48

Your IT - Mobility

Tired of getting SMS spam? If a new system on trial overseas is adopted globally you'll be able to report spam to a global clearinghouse simply by sending an SMS, and then have your mobile network operator block such messages.

The GSM Association - an international body that represents nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators and more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem - is piloting a spam reporting service that, it claims, will provide a worldwide clearinghouse of mobile messaging threats and misuse reported by mobile users.

The service is in trials with three mobile operators: AT&T Mobility in the US, with Korea Telecom and with SFR in France. It is being operated for the GSMA by Cloudmark, formerly Spamnet, a global provider of spam filtering services for the fixed Internet.

According to the GSMA the service will analyse SMS traffic and identify and aggregate reports of misuse submitted by mobile subscribers of participating networks via a short code.

The short code 7726 - which spells 'spam' on most phones - will be used where local national numbering plans permit, in conjunction with an additional code '33700', a universally recognised simple code, to encourage consumers to report instances of SMS spam.

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