Want to send 'vote for me' text messages

November 4th, 2005

An SMS provider has asked the Election Commission whether sending short messages (SMS) urging mobile phone users to vote for certain parties or politicians is against the law.

Seung Ho Choi, chief marketing officer of MDM I&C Co, took staff to meet the Election Commission to ask whether the firm, an SMS provider, could provide the messages for a fee.

Mr Choi said the use of short messages for campaign activities was allowed in South Korea.

Wannipa Boonching, Mr Choi's secretary, said if the firm was allowed to go ahead, it would ask parties whether they were interested in sending SMS messages to woo voters.

The firm would offer the service for one baht to 1.40 baht per SMS per phone number. The more messages sent, the cheaper the service charge, she said. Normally, the service charge for an SMS is 3 baht a message.

"We can send messages to 1,000 mobile phone numbers a second. However, the speed depends on the amount of SMS traffic at the time.

We have heard that mobile-phone service operator DTAC will not provide the service as it wants to remain neutral while AIS, the country's largest cellular operator, wants to reserve the service for its customers. However, other mobile phone operators are ready to offer the service", she said.

An official at the Election Commission said parties or candidates could hire SMS providers to send messages.

However, the messages must not carry promises in exchange for votes, nor attack rival parties or candidates. Parties which hired firms to send messages must include the cost of the SMS service in their tally of campaign spending, said the official.