SMS Spam is REAL, in China

Recently I wrote a post trying to contemplate whether SMS Spam is real. Ferris Research indicated that "In 2005, about 500 million unwanted text messages reached subscribers. In 2006, that figure is expected to be 800 million." but analysts at Ferris Research considered it as nothing comparing with the volume of SMS messages sent.

Read a report released by China Internet Society, explaining the worrysome scenario of SMS spamming in China. 8 spam messages a week is a lot.

Chinese mobile phone users are being flooded with spam text messages, with 6.25 per cent of them receiving spam more than 40 times a week, according to a survey by the China Internet Society.

The survey, released on Tuesday, shows that 35 per cent of all 4,721 users randomly questioned across the country receive five to 10 spam messages a week, while 15 per cent get 10 to 20. On average, each user receives at least eight spam messages a week, questionnaires show.

Common junk messages include advertisements, swindles, information on illegal selling of vehicles, weapons or fake diplomas, and short message services (SMS) that users never signed up for

Source: People's Daily Online -- Spam text messages a headache for all

Considering the fact that there are about 450 Million mobile users in china, there are about 500 Million Spam SMS message every day, that accounts to 182 Billion Spam messages. If we count the cost of each SMS, at a US prices of 10 cents, then that would mean 18.2 Billion US Dollars.

Do you now consider SMS spamming as real or not?

[tags]sms, sms-spam, mobile-applications, mobile-markets, china[/tags]