Premium rate SMS services have a number of useful applications, such as paying for parking, voting and getting information.  However there have cases of mobile phone users receiving high bills for receiving services they never requested.

SMS services are popular with children and youths, especially for ordering ringtones or games for mobile phones. Consumer protection organisations such as Internet Ombudsmann or Arbeiterkammer have recorded many cases of young people unwittingly ordering long term subscriptions.

Even though there are legal regulations defining appropriate advertising and information as well as correct procedures to unsubscribe (sending a “stop word”) from Premium SMS services, in some cases cancellation does not work.

An additional problem is that many Premium SMS operators are located abroad, which makes handling complaints very difficult.

Against this background Saferinternet.at organised a round table with the major Austrian mobile services operators, all mobile network operators, the consumer organisations Internet Ombudsmann and Arbeiterkammer, and the Federal Ministry of Social Security, Generations and Consumer Protection. The goal was to develop solutions to prevent consumer problems, while still fostering this new industry.

The first outcome is that Saferinternet.at, together with "Internet Ombudsmann and Arbeiterkammer, has launched the Premium SMS Blocking Service SMS Sperre.

Mobile phone users facing troubles with Premium SMS can enter their own phone number and the trouble-causing Premium SMS number. An automatically generated PIN-Code and a confirmation SMS prevent abuse of the blocking service.

The service is free and works with both prepaid and regular mobile phones. The number of involved mobile service operators will be constantly extended.