Thanks to the team at BBC Lincolnshire. The invited me on the Rod Whiting Breakfast show this morning to talk about the SMS spam.

They were reporting that complaints from text spam have risen dramatically in the last few months and asked me to comment.

I pointed out the following:

- Text messages cost money to send. Our operators have done a good job of closing off the rather suspect text gateways so spammers have to pay to send messages. This means that there’s a lot less around (e.g. compared to other mediums like email)
- Spammers are making money from their spam texts — otherwise they wouldn’t be sending them
- It’s very important to ignore spam messages and to avoid replying or following up with their call-to-action (like phoning a premium rate number for ‘more information’)
- You can forward spam messages for free to your operator — for more information, please check with your specific operator. Vodafone, for instance, will accept spam texts sent to the short code VSPAM (87726) whilst others use SPAM (7726).
- If the spam begins to get crazy, do talk to your operator for advice — you might consider changing your phone number too
- Reputable companies adhere to a code of conduct — you’ll see a note like, ‘to opt out, reply STOP’ or something similar at the end of their text updates

Do any of the UK  networks (including MVNO’s)  class reciveing a call or incoming sms as activity, and therefore will not cut you off?

- – - – -

You MUST try this NOW. This is the coolest thing I’ve seen in ages. http://puskaradio.com. Install on an N95 or E71. Share your location with others via sms. The website can auto refresh and the map zooms. – - – - -

Alas I’m Nokialess at the moment. My current N95 8GB doesn’t do data, if you recall. But if you get a chance, take a look and let me know what you think?
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Posted by email from MIR Live (posterous)

First up is Nokia’s Comes With Music, previously we have had a lot of coverage here on MIR however this post is written in the position as head of sales and promotions at my student radio station and nothing to do with my writings here on MIR.

I was called up today from what I presume to be street teams for Nokia something (I can’t remember the name she told of her team).  It seems Nokia have tasked students to get the word out about with Comes With Music as much as possible. She said she was looking for people who could speak to the most about students as possible and obviously student radio is one possible medium hence why she was ringing me.

She told me that she had a few Comes With Music phones to giveaway as prizes. She took my details down and my interest and she had to speak to her boss.

I find out early next week whether we have been successful however it is fantastic to see companies really engaging with the their target audience.

More coverage on this next week!

Good Job Nokia!

You may or may not be aware that I am part of my university’s student station Shock Radio and we are looking for a short or long code. We would would then need the SMS to be delivered to an email address.

We are a non profit organisation and really don’t want to make our listeners have to pay more for the message then they have to.

Ideally a long code would be fantastic as it would mean people can text from their inclusive texts in their contract.

Currently we have a old Nokia that connects to a computer and a script then converts the SMS into an email. The only issue is that it is not the most reliable bit of kit.

I would appreciate any suggestions you may have; either below in the comments or you can contact me on ricky@mobileindustryreview.com

PS (Sly plug here sorry Ewan) If would like to listen to my delightful tones then you can catch me 8pm until 10pm (BST) every Thursday from November 6th. More Details click here!

Ricky

According to the paper, Channel 4 is in discussions with electronics manufacturers to create a branded radio receiver that can be plugged into mobile phones or iPods and cost less than £20. The device could launch about the same time as the broadcaster’s E4 digital radio station, later this year.

Targeting mobile users for DAB isn’t a bad plan – plenty of people carry headphones or hands free kits with them, so why not a plug-in gizmo that will give them music to while away the long hours on their commute? That said, I think Channel 4 might be better off teaming up with an operator and bundling the devices for free with media-centric mobiles like Sony’s Walkman range – if Channel 4′s aiming for the youth market, even saving £20 could be the difference between teenagers taking up the service and not.