New Delhi: I think I'm almost feeling nostalgic.
Never again will I check my mobile inbox eagerly, hoping for a text from that special someone, only to find this: "Ab motapa ghatana bilkul aasan, bina vyayam, bina upwas, bina yoga ke, motapa ghataye, warna paise wapas paye." (Losing weight just became very easy. Lose weight without exercising, fasting, or yoga, or get your money back.)
Or this: "Imperia coming up with new residential project in sec 37 C, Gurgaon; Get 2BHK fin 45 lacs; Proximity to upcoming metro and expressway."
Finally, relief has come for all those afflicted by a barrage of SMS messages (aka everyone in India with a cell phone) selling everything from hair loss products to spot admissions into "reputed" universities abroad.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) much-awaited guidelines for telemarketers came into force on Tuesday, promising to eliminate the menace of unsolicited SMSes and phone calls by limiting the number of messages an individual can send to 100 per day. The new registry, with penalties ranging from 25,000 rupees ($511) to 250,000 rupees ($5,110), will deter telemarketers from spamming the inboxes of mobile phone subscribers registered with the National Customer Preference Register.
By Tuesday evening, the silence was deafening. In the past 24 hours, I got four lonely SMS's - three from friends, the fourth from my father asking after our dogs (we just had one neutered).
Issues still remain with the SMS shutdown, of course.
The Financial Express raises an important concern on the 100 SMS per day limit. "Institutions like schools and banks, which send bulk SMSes for non-advertising purposes, will each have to go to TRAI for exemptions, thereby making the process more complicated than it need be."
It is also unclear whether the registry addresses the menace of bulk SMS Web sites, like way2sms, since the rules apply to individuals. And the key to the long-term success of the rules will be how effectively TRAI is able to implement them, which is valid concern since they failed at a similar earlier venture.
But for now, most users are thrilled. "I'm just happy that I don't have to check my Blackberry because the red light is blinking only to find some guy trying to sell me a house I can ill afford," said Sopan Jindal, a finance professional and a happy customer.
And if, like me, they find themselves missing a constantly beeping mobile phone, they can opt back in to the world of SMS marketing, by subscribing to specific sectors like real estate and health.
Even businessmen who were big bulk SMS senders admit that probably won't happen. Says Krishna Panchel of Unicon Real Estate in Gurgaon, "It will definitely affect my business negatively since it is unlikely that people will sign up for real estate alerts."
Never again will I check my mobile inbox eagerly, hoping for a text from that special someone, only to find this: "Ab motapa ghatana bilkul aasan, bina vyayam, bina upwas, bina yoga ke, motapa ghataye, warna paise wapas paye." (Losing weight just became very easy. Lose weight without exercising, fasting, or yoga, or get your money back.)
Or this: "Imperia coming up with new residential project in sec 37 C, Gurgaon; Get 2BHK fin 45 lacs; Proximity to upcoming metro and expressway."
Finally, relief has come for all those afflicted by a barrage of SMS messages (aka everyone in India with a cell phone) selling everything from hair loss products to spot admissions into "reputed" universities abroad.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) much-awaited guidelines for telemarketers came into force on Tuesday, promising to eliminate the menace of unsolicited SMSes and phone calls by limiting the number of messages an individual can send to 100 per day. The new registry, with penalties ranging from 25,000 rupees ($511) to 250,000 rupees ($5,110), will deter telemarketers from spamming the inboxes of mobile phone subscribers registered with the National Customer Preference Register.
By Tuesday evening, the silence was deafening. In the past 24 hours, I got four lonely SMS's - three from friends, the fourth from my father asking after our dogs (we just had one neutered).
Issues still remain with the SMS shutdown, of course.
The Financial Express raises an important concern on the 100 SMS per day limit. "Institutions like schools and banks, which send bulk SMSes for non-advertising purposes, will each have to go to TRAI for exemptions, thereby making the process more complicated than it need be."
It is also unclear whether the registry addresses the menace of bulk SMS Web sites, like way2sms, since the rules apply to individuals. And the key to the long-term success of the rules will be how effectively TRAI is able to implement them, which is valid concern since they failed at a similar earlier venture.
But for now, most users are thrilled. "I'm just happy that I don't have to check my Blackberry because the red light is blinking only to find some guy trying to sell me a house I can ill afford," said Sopan Jindal, a finance professional and a happy customer.
And if, like me, they find themselves missing a constantly beeping mobile phone, they can opt back in to the world of SMS marketing, by subscribing to specific sectors like real estate and health.
Even businessmen who were big bulk SMS senders admit that probably won't happen. Says Krishna Panchel of Unicon Real Estate in Gurgaon, "It will definitely affect my business negatively since it is unlikely that people will sign up for real estate alerts."
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