Premium Billing on US Cellular

We're happy to announce the availability of Premium Billing on US Cellular. Only text-based single purchase programs (no binary, no subscriptions) are currently supported with price points ranging from $0.50 up to $30. US Cellular consumers have a global spending limit of $50 per account per calendar month, enforced by US Cellular.

All campaigns need to comply with MMA Guidelines an the USCC Rule Book (more details to follow).

US Cellular has over 6 million subscribers in 189 markets in 26 states (see coverage map - areas in blue). The company has converted its network to CDMA-1X digital technology, adding more voice capacity, high-speed data products and features, and expanded coverage areas. A small percentage of the U.S. Cellular subscriber base is pre-paid customers not eligible for premium traffic at this time which will be available in the future.

Verizon Wireless Monthly Spending Cap

Verizon Wireless imposes a monthly spending cap of $100. Please note that this spending cap is to be applied on a calendar-month basis. This means that if someone signs up for a mobile chat campaign on September 28th, he can spend up to $100 between September 28th and September 30th, and another $100 from October 1st to October 31st.

T-Mobile Playbook Changes

T-Mobile released a new version of its short code playbook, detailing all requirements content providers need to adhere to when running mobile campaigns on T-Mobile's network. As usual, T-Mobile does not allow 'grandfathering-in' of existing campaigns, meaning that all current campaigns need to be in compliance with the new guidelines within 30 days from today.

The playbook has grown to a massive 45 pages and is to be used in conjunction with the MMA Best Practices guidelines which are also mandatory.

The key changes in the current version (version 6) of the playbook are:

• Sweepstake campaigns are approved on a case-by-case basis and if charged at a premium rate, need to include a piece of downloadable content for the premium charge.
  
• Premium Interactive TV campaigns are approved on a case-by-case basis and may require on-air visual and verbal call out of pricing and Ts&Cs. Only one-time events are allowed, no subscription billing.
  
• Opt-in and opt-out via a mobile internet browser (WAP page) is now allowed.
  
• WAP Billing is now offered as an alternative to PSMS billing.
  
• Promotional or complimentary downloadable content is now allowed on a case-by-case basis if the download is tied to a specific promotional campaign for a 'non-mobile' product or service.
  
• The restrictions on downloadable applications are relaxed. Both non-networked and networked applications and games may be permitted as long as they have been certified by True North Services (TNS), T-Mobile's third party application certifier. However, applications and networked games, if approved, are only available to T-Mobile subscribers with unlimited Internet access.

Verizon Phone Blocking

Verizon now allows subscribers to block the delivery of Premium Billed SMS messages. When a content provider attempts to send a PSMS message to a blocked phone, Verizon will return a specific error code, and the content provider needs to send a zero rated message to the subscriber to inform him of the blocking.

Verizon will also block the delivery of MMS messages to subscribers of Verizon resellers such as Tracfone, Airvoice, Page Plus, or West End, etc. A specific error message will be returned.

If the content provider observes this error during the delivery of a message that is part of a subscription, the content provider needs to cancel the subscription, and confirm to the subscriber that his subscription has been canceled.