New wireless alliance_文教Education
in may, lesley dong, a beijing office worker, was outraged when she found that netease didn’t tell her when the multimedia messaging promotion period had ended. it had in fact transferred her allegedly free subscription to a monthly paid one at a cost of 10 yuan per month.
after that, dong decided she wouldn’t use internet media wireless services in any form, even for trials. now, however, she might have to change her mind.
the internet trust alliance, which is made up of three of china’s top internet companies - sina, sohu, and netease - announced china’s first code of conduct for internet wireless service providers (sp) on november 29, according to beijing daily.
the alliance awarded the three members client trusted wireless service certificates for their reliable wireless services.
ding lei, founder and ceo of netease, said that they made the regulations specifically with the consumer mind.
more transparency
the regulations cover everything from text and multimedia messaging to ring tone downloading and interactive voice response. they are calling for a more transparent charging system and pornography-free services.
"these are meant to create a healthy and orderly environment for china’s internet wireless service development," said zhang chaoyang, ceo of sohu.
industry experts were quoted by beijing news as saying that the regulations came in response to pressure from mobile operators who have gone through a difficult time this year.
in 2004, china mobile penalized over 200 sps that were providing pornographic materials and setting "subscription traps" for consumers. sohu’s multimedia messaging service, for example, was suspended for one year starting september 1 2004 because of its "traps".
in the past two years, there have been a number of cases of mobile phone customers using monthly text messaging services for betting on sports matches.
the sps did not specify that sending those sorts of messages amounted to a monthly subscription order.
a student from tianjin fell victim to these tricks, according to the city express, a local newspaper. the girl had replied to a text message that appeared to be from a close friend. when she got her bill, she found she had subscribed to an sp service, the paper reported.
lack of trust
wireless services became a major force to revive china’s depressed internet media companies in 2003. but, the penalties imposed on them early this year caused a slump in their stock shares.
according to reuters, the firms are trying to broaden their source of income to offset their losses. some have found that online games, advertising and search services can, to some degree, help.
college students are one of the largest groups using internet wireless services. they welcomed the move, but with reservations.
liao zhengjun, a journalism postgrad at tsinghua university, praised the alliance regulations: "as it moves towards a standardized market and a transparent charge system, i’ll consider using more wireless services."
previously, he says, he was afraid of being wrongly charged.
some students aren’t so sure about the real intentions behind the regulations. chen wuyue, at renmin university, wonders whether it’s merely a show.
lin duan, at xiamen university, said the regulations would be more helpful if more sps would join the alliance.
wang yan, ceo of sina, responds by saying that they’re willing to enlarge their group, but that they have no such plans at the moment because things might get out of control.
after that, dong decided she wouldn’t use internet media wireless services in any form, even for trials. now, however, she might have to change her mind.
the internet trust alliance, which is made up of three of china’s top internet companies - sina, sohu, and netease - announced china’s first code of conduct for internet wireless service providers (sp) on november 29, according to beijing daily.
the alliance awarded the three members client trusted wireless service certificates for their reliable wireless services.
ding lei, founder and ceo of netease, said that they made the regulations specifically with the consumer mind.
more transparency
the regulations cover everything from text and multimedia messaging to ring tone downloading and interactive voice response. they are calling for a more transparent charging system and pornography-free services.
"these are meant to create a healthy and orderly environment for china’s internet wireless service development," said zhang chaoyang, ceo of sohu.
industry experts were quoted by beijing news as saying that the regulations came in response to pressure from mobile operators who have gone through a difficult time this year.
in 2004, china mobile penalized over 200 sps that were providing pornographic materials and setting "subscription traps" for consumers. sohu’s multimedia messaging service, for example, was suspended for one year starting september 1 2004 because of its "traps".
in the past two years, there have been a number of cases of mobile phone customers using monthly text messaging services for betting on sports matches.
the sps did not specify that sending those sorts of messages amounted to a monthly subscription order.
a student from tianjin fell victim to these tricks, according to the city express, a local newspaper. the girl had replied to a text message that appeared to be from a close friend. when she got her bill, she found she had subscribed to an sp service, the paper reported.
lack of trust
wireless services became a major force to revive china’s depressed internet media companies in 2003. but, the penalties imposed on them early this year caused a slump in their stock shares.
according to reuters, the firms are trying to broaden their source of income to offset their losses. some have found that online games, advertising and search services can, to some degree, help.
college students are one of the largest groups using internet wireless services. they welcomed the move, but with reservations.
liao zhengjun, a journalism postgrad at tsinghua university, praised the alliance regulations: "as it moves towards a standardized market and a transparent charge system, i’ll consider using more wireless services."
previously, he says, he was afraid of being wrongly charged.
some students aren’t so sure about the real intentions behind the regulations. chen wuyue, at renmin university, wonders whether it’s merely a show.
lin duan, at xiamen university, said the regulations would be more helpful if more sps would join the alliance.
wang yan, ceo of sina, responds by saying that they’re willing to enlarge their group, but that they have no such plans at the moment because things might get out of control.