Telecommunication Company of Iran, which regulates mobile networks and operators in Islamic Republic, announced on Friday that it will suspend SMS marketing campaigns in near future. In recent years, SMS marketing has become one of the most popular methods of advertising in Iran. Small and medium businesses have utilized SMS marketing campaigns to promote their services and products.
“Six months ago, Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) asked mobile operators to organize SMS marketing campaigns. According to studies, a large number of mobile subscribers in Iran are not happy with receiving promotional SMSs from unknown companies. From now, all SMS marketing campaigns should use opt-in forms, and they must offer unsubscribe option to clients.” The new statement released by TCI read.
According to the press release, TCI will open a new online center to organize SMS marketing campaigns. “Businesses will be able to send up to 180,000 promotional SMSs to subscribers by using this automation.” Also the new portal will enable mobile subscribers to submit complaints and reports spammers.
Base on Iran’s civil laws, breaking citizens’ privacies is a punishable act. TCI has threatened to take violators to Islamic courts, in case they break terms of services concerning this subject.
Currently, the mobile penetration rate stands at 110% in Iran. In recent years, Iranian government in partnership with private sector has invested a lot to expand Iran’s mobile networks. Hamrah-e-Avval and Irancell are the two leading mobile operators in Iran.