Further proof, if it were needed, of the global power of text messaging comes from India, where the government has temporarily banned bulk SMS and MMS.
Private citizens won’t be allowed to send more than 10 texts a day and companies are banned from sending more than 100 a day, up until this Saturday. This follows recent civil unrest and is an attempt by security forces to clamp down on communications which could ‘create tensions and disrupt peace in the country’.
With mobile phones becoming so popular in India, but email and internet access not yet so prevalent, particularly in rural areas, SMS is a powerful way of sending out mass communications quickly and cheaply.
The Department of Telecom has taken these extreme measures, following orders from the Home Ministry, after advice from intelligence services that ‘anti-social elements and rumour-mongers could use SMS and MMS services to create tensions and disrupt peace in the country, particularly in communally-sensitive cities and towns’.
If you are sending SMS to India please be aware of this ongoing situation. A High Court ruling is due tomorrow and we will be monitoring the situation closely.
For full details please see http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article777241.ece
