A particularly significant drop has been recorded over the past five years in the revenues of multimedia information service providers (MIPs), which may be unknown to most. That is, unlike the widespread five-digit and ten-digit high-tariff numbers, to which sending messages or calls is accompanied by a very high cost, which “overestimates”, most often without the knowledge of subscribers, telephone bills. These special numbers are used for customer service, social organization appointments, phone directories, and to enter contests or access adult content. Mobile phone companies generate revenue from these activities, but they give more than 60% of it to multimedia information service providers in accordance with the revenue sharing model.

According to the data of the National Telecommunications and Postal Commission, the operation of special high-speed numbers brought in revenue of 51 million euros in 2021, of which 34.5 million euros were directed to 21 operating companies providing multimedia information services. EETT). Long-term processing of data from the Office shows that last year’s income of the Ministry of Health, compared to 2017, when it was 103 million euros, fell by 50.4%. However, regardless of the year, approximately 1/3 of income is consistently generated by telephone directory services (numbers beginning with 118), followed by numbers 14 and 901 to 909 (the last 10-digit premium is for adults only). The five largest sources of income are completed by SMS services from 54 and from 190 to 195.

What the EETT figures show for the period 2017-2021

But what is the reason for the decline in income from multimedia information services? In the fact that, according to market participants, it is precisely such companies that have been constantly in the field of view of inspection bodies in recent years. In addition to the EETT, which has imposed heavy fines in the recent past and proceeded to revoke the licenses of PPE companies, controls such as the General Secretariat for Consumer Affairs and the Ombudsman have imposed heavy fines on companies. And the point here is not so much in the exorbitant commissions they charge – after all, commissions are not subject to regulation – but mainly in how red tape they beat out the subscriber’s consent to subscribe to this particular category of services. This happens, for the most part, with paid SMS that a large number of subscribers have received on their mobile, as a result of which they pay for services that they never chose, at least consciously.

That is, while browsing the Internet through a pop-up window, the user is invited to participate in a contest or lottery in exchange for gift certificates, discount coupons, etc. They usually ask him to answer simple questions, then select the desired gift and, finally, register your mobile phone number and accept the terms of use. In many cases, user registration and, as a result, sending SMS occurs even if the conditions are not accepted. According to the EETT regulation, registration in third-party services must be accompanied by sending a detailed SMS indicating the amount of payment, the frequency of receiving SMS, the method of deletion, the phone number and email of the company providing the services. One of the most effective ways to protect consumers is to activate blocking, a service offered by telecom service providers, in costly five-digit SMS messages.