Verizon Wireless now requires all premium billed reverse auctions to include some form of added value content (text alert, joke, trivia, etc.). This is due to the changing legal landscape causing reverse auctions to be considered as games of chance and no longer games of skill. Without the added value component, reverse auctions could be viewed as an illegal form of gambling in some states.
Although this provision specifically applies to reverse auctions (and not general sweepstakes), we do feel that the next step will probably be to extend it to premium billed sweepstakes. We encourage content providers to start modifying their premium sweepstakes and reverse auction campaigns accordingly.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Cingular Off Portal Purchasing Control (OPPC) System
Cingular announces important changes to the way its Subscription and Refund Management (SRM) system will work, mainly to improve Cingular's visibility over end-user subscription status to 3rd party content.
Under the new and revised SRM system, content providers no longer need to handle the double opt-in user interaction before starting a new subscription on Cingular's SRM platform. Instead Cingular will handle the double opt-in management through its Qpass billing platform.
Here's the old message flow:
And here's the new message flow:
The new system has the advantage that Cingular customer service reps will be able to handle consumer complaints more effectively and verify consumer claims about opt-in status to specific campaigns.
For Quios customers who use the Quios Permission Management System (QPMS) no changes will be needed. Quios will handle the revised requirements transparently to our customers.
The change-over is expected to take place by the end of Q3 2007.
Under the new and revised SRM system, content providers no longer need to handle the double opt-in user interaction before starting a new subscription on Cingular's SRM platform. Instead Cingular will handle the double opt-in management through its Qpass billing platform.
Here's the old message flow:
And here's the new message flow:
The new system has the advantage that Cingular customer service reps will be able to handle consumer complaints more effectively and verify consumer claims about opt-in status to specific campaigns.
For Quios customers who use the Quios Permission Management System (QPMS) no changes will be needed. Quios will handle the revised requirements transparently to our customers.
The change-over is expected to take place by the end of Q3 2007.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
T-Mobile and Games/Applications
T-Mobile announced today that all J2ME games and applications need to be certified by their independent certification partner, True North Service, before they will be approved by T-Mobile and made available to T-Mobile subscribers.
This new requirement doesn't change the previous requirement that all J2ME games and applications need to be part of T-Mobile's white list of approved applications.
The new independent certification step needs to be completed before submitting your short code campaign to T-Mobile for approval, hence further lengthening the approval process and time-to-market for your campaigns. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time (at least 10-12 weeks) to go through the entire T-Mobile approval process.
If you currently sell J2ME games on a T-Mobile approved short code, you need to contact True North within 30 days to start the re-certification process.
For True North Service contact details, contact us.
This new requirement doesn't change the previous requirement that all J2ME games and applications need to be part of T-Mobile's white list of approved applications.
The new independent certification step needs to be completed before submitting your short code campaign to T-Mobile for approval, hence further lengthening the approval process and time-to-market for your campaigns. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time (at least 10-12 weeks) to go through the entire T-Mobile approval process.
If you currently sell J2ME games on a T-Mobile approved short code, you need to contact True North within 30 days to start the re-certification process.
For True North Service contact details, contact us.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Sprint Premium SMS Message Flow (Updated)
Sprint is changing the way gateway providers interact with Sprint's message delivery and billing systems. Whereas content providers just deliver the proper premium sms message to gateway providers like Quios, we work behind the scenes to (i) deliver the content to the cell phone user; (ii) initiate a billing transaction with Sprint's billing system.
Previously, we were first initiating a billing transaction before attempting to deliver the content. Sprint is now requiring us to reverse this message flow, and first attempt to deliver the content, before initiating a billing transaction.
The message flow change will take effect on Wed. May 9th between 2am and 4am PT.
Customers do not need to change anything on their side. As is the case with the other carriers, Quios will perform retries on all failed billing transactions to optimize the success billing ratio.
We don't expect this change to have any material effect on success billing ratios. It will reduce the number of complaints from consumers about being charged for content that was never delivered. On the other hand, this new system could lead to content being delivered successfully without being charged (ie. message delivery succeeds but billing fails).
UPDATE: Sprint has warned aggregators to expect a reduction in success billing ratios of up to 25-30%, part of which is due to the rationalization of delinquent subscribers on their network. However, we have no further visibility on how this will affect individual content providers.
Previously, we were first initiating a billing transaction before attempting to deliver the content. Sprint is now requiring us to reverse this message flow, and first attempt to deliver the content, before initiating a billing transaction.
The message flow change will take effect on Wed. May 9th between 2am and 4am PT.
Customers do not need to change anything on their side. As is the case with the other carriers, Quios will perform retries on all failed billing transactions to optimize the success billing ratio.
We don't expect this change to have any material effect on success billing ratios. It will reduce the number of complaints from consumers about being charged for content that was never delivered. On the other hand, this new system could lead to content being delivered successfully without being charged (ie. message delivery succeeds but billing fails).
UPDATE: Sprint has warned aggregators to expect a reduction in success billing ratios of up to 25-30%, part of which is due to the rationalization of delinquent subscribers on their network. However, we have no further visibility on how this will affect individual content providers.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Goodbye Dobson, Hello Cellular One
Dobson has completed its rebranding from Dobson/Cellular One to Cellular One. Please update your marketing materials accordingly. You may use below logos (small or large) provided you follow the Dobson branding guidelines as documented in the Quios White Paper.
New Minimum Rates from Alltel
Alltel is imposing a new minimum rate of $0.50 on all premium billed campaigns. Existing campaigns below this minimum may continue, but new campaigns must adhere to the new policy.
The other carriers with minima are AT&T Mobility, who requires a minimum of $0.25, and Sprint, who requires a minimum of $0.15.
The other carriers with minima are AT&T Mobility, who requires a minimum of $0.25, and Sprint, who requires a minimum of $0.15.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Verizon Pricing Changes
Verizon has announced following price policy changes. All affected campaigns need to start adhering to this new policy by APRIL 30, 2007. We will approach Quios customers who have affected campaigns individually to assist them in the migration.
1. Weekly billing is no longer allowed. You can continue to use daily or monthly billing.
2. Chat pricing is capped at $0.99 per message.
3. Monthly subscription campaigns are capped at $20 per month.
1. Weekly billing is no longer allowed. You can continue to use daily or monthly billing.
2. Chat pricing is capped at $0.99 per message.
3. Monthly subscription campaigns are capped at $20 per month.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Recycled Numbers Lawsuits
Quios has learned that several law suits have been initiated against wireless carriers regarding deactivated numbers. The complaints in these suits have to do with recipients allegedly being billed for services and content based upon authorizations received by the PREVIOUS owner of that phone number.
As detailed in a previous post (Mo. June 19, 2006) deactivated numbers are typically recycled by carriers after 3 months. Carriers provide us with lists of deactivated numbers. We provide those lists to our customers through an ftp site. Please contact us for details.
It is extremely important for all content providers to diligently take the proper actions after receiving the new disconnect list. Failure to do so may lead to consumer complaints, shut down of the short code by the carrier, or even legal action.
As detailed in a previous post (Mo. June 19, 2006) deactivated numbers are typically recycled by carriers after 3 months. Carriers provide us with lists of deactivated numbers. We provide those lists to our customers through an ftp site. Please contact us for details.
It is extremely important for all content providers to diligently take the proper actions after receiving the new disconnect list. Failure to do so may lead to consumer complaints, shut down of the short code by the carrier, or even legal action.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Alltel increases spending limits, adds support for pre-paid
As of March 7, 2007 Alltel has increased the monthly spending limit for premium services from $35 to $75. This spending limit is applied by Alltel on a PER USER basis and covers all premium SMS usage by that user in a given month. Alltel is enforcing the limit. Content providers do not need to make any changes.
At the same time, Alltel announces support for prepaid phones. The subscriber must have sufficient funds in his account for a premium transaction to succeed.
We believe that both measures will help to increase the overall SBR (Success Billing Ratio) of Alltel's network. Quios' average SBR on Alltel for 2006 was a low 45.5%, compared to an average SBR across all US carriers of 87.9%.
At the same time, Alltel announces support for prepaid phones. The subscriber must have sufficient funds in his account for a premium transaction to succeed.
We believe that both measures will help to increase the overall SBR (Success Billing Ratio) of Alltel's network. Quios' average SBR on Alltel for 2006 was a low 45.5%, compared to an average SBR across all US carriers of 87.9%.
Friday, March 09, 2007
T-Mobile reduces impact of recent changes
T-Mobile announces today that it has made changes to its campaign provisioning fee structure as well as its refund driven outpayment penalty structure. The changes are implemented retroactively from Feb 1st, 2007 onwards.
1. The one-time campaign provisioning fee is reduced from $1,000 to $500.
2. The new outpayment penalty structure now provides an incentive in addition to penalizing customers for excessive refunds. If the refund ratio is 5% or lower, T-Mobile will increase the outpayment to customers by 2%. However, the penalties for having high refunds have increased. The new structure is detailed below:
We applaud the reduction of the campaign provisioning fee. We feel it's important to keep the barriers to entry as low as possible since that will result in more campaigns, more services, and more innovation.
While it's positive that the new refund related structure now has an incentive in addition to a penalty, we still feel that these measures are ill conceived because they penalize all content providers of a certain aggregator in the same way regardless of the specific refund % of any one specific content provider. Secondly, content providers have no direct control over carrier refund policies. We would think that the typical carrier margins of 35-40% on premium SMS outpayments would be sufficient to deal with refund problems. And if not, carriers always have the option to cancel a certain campaign if refunds prove to be too high or costly.
1. The one-time campaign provisioning fee is reduced from $1,000 to $500.
2. The new outpayment penalty structure now provides an incentive in addition to penalizing customers for excessive refunds. If the refund ratio is 5% or lower, T-Mobile will increase the outpayment to customers by 2%. However, the penalties for having high refunds have increased. The new structure is detailed below:
| Refund Rate | T-Mobile Revenue Share Change (%) |
|---|---|
| 0%-5% | +2% |
| 5%-7.5% | 0% |
| 7.6%-10.9% | -4.6% |
| 11%-14.9% | -18.25% |
| 15% or greater | -100% |
We applaud the reduction of the campaign provisioning fee. We feel it's important to keep the barriers to entry as low as possible since that will result in more campaigns, more services, and more innovation.
While it's positive that the new refund related structure now has an incentive in addition to a penalty, we still feel that these measures are ill conceived because they penalize all content providers of a certain aggregator in the same way regardless of the specific refund % of any one specific content provider. Secondly, content providers have no direct control over carrier refund policies. We would think that the typical carrier margins of 35-40% on premium SMS outpayments would be sufficient to deal with refund problems. And if not, carriers always have the option to cancel a certain campaign if refunds prove to be too high or costly.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
US SMS Penetration by Age Group
Forrester Research released a study on text messaging usage by age group. They estimate that consumers between ages 12 and 21 are more than twice as likely as the average adult mobile user to send messages or browse the Internet on their mobile phone.
The study also shows that among young people, text messaging is pretty much universally adopted.
Here are the numbers:
Note: Based on US Households that owned a mobile phone in December 2006
The study also shows that among young people, text messaging is pretty much universally adopted.
Here are the numbers:
| Age Group | Active SMS User % |
|---|---|
| 18-24 | 76% |
| 25-34 | 58% |
| 35-44 | 43% |
| 45-54 | 33% |
| 55-64 | 22% |
| 65 and over | 19% |
Note: Based on US Households that owned a mobile phone in December 2006
Thursday, January 11, 2007
T-Mobile Changes
[Updated Jan. 19, 2007]
Today Quios is informing its customers of rate changes that will be applicable for short code campaigns that run on T-Mobile's network. These changes are implemented with immediate effect :
1. Introduction of one-time T-Mobile campaign setup fee of $1,000. Note that T-Mobile requires that every campaign running on a short code be approved separately. Each one of these campaigns will incur a set up fee of $1,000.
2. Quios' revenue share payout on T-Mobile traffic will be reduced by the percentage reflected in the table below based on the AGGREGATE T-MOBILE REFUND RATE experienced by ALL Quios customers in a given month. Note that, if the refund rate is 15% or greater, there will be no outpayment at all for that month. The refund rate is calculated by dividing the total amount of refunds issued by T-Mobile to End-Users for premium programs offered by all the aggregator's customers, by the total dollar amount of premiums billed by those customers for the relevant month. For example, if Quios experiences an aggregate refund rate of 8% based on the total refunds made by T-Mobile attributable to all Quios customers, outpayments to all Quios customers will be reduced by 2.5% in the applicable month.
Remember that short code campaigns are submitted on a per carrier basis. Hence we do offer the possibility to not submit your campaigns to T-Mobile if you feel that above measures impact the profitability of your business model.
For more information about these measures and what they mean for your business, contact us.
Today Quios is informing its customers of rate changes that will be applicable for short code campaigns that run on T-Mobile's network. These changes are implemented with immediate effect :
1. Introduction of one-time T-Mobile campaign setup fee of $1,000. Note that T-Mobile requires that every campaign running on a short code be approved separately. Each one of these campaigns will incur a set up fee of $1,000.
2. Quios' revenue share payout on T-Mobile traffic will be reduced by the percentage reflected in the table below based on the AGGREGATE T-MOBILE REFUND RATE experienced by ALL Quios customers in a given month. Note that, if the refund rate is 15% or greater, there will be no outpayment at all for that month. The refund rate is calculated by dividing the total amount of refunds issued by T-Mobile to End-Users for premium programs offered by all the aggregator's customers, by the total dollar amount of premiums billed by those customers for the relevant month. For example, if Quios experiences an aggregate refund rate of 8% based on the total refunds made by T-Mobile attributable to all Quios customers, outpayments to all Quios customers will be reduced by 2.5% in the applicable month.
| Refund Rate | T-Mobile Revenue Share Minimum Reduction (%) |
|---|---|
| 7.6%-10.9% | 2.5% |
| 11%-14.9% | 10.00% |
| 15% or greater | 100% |
Remember that short code campaigns are submitted on a per carrier basis. Hence we do offer the possibility to not submit your campaigns to T-Mobile if you feel that above measures impact the profitability of your business model.
For more information about these measures and what they mean for your business, contact us.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Sprint standards and penalties
Sprint has elaborated a number of standards that content providers must comply with or face penalties. The standards go beyond the guidelines released by the MMA today and are described in full detail below:
Sprint may enforce the following penalties if you do not meet the standards outlined above:
- Compliance with the Consumer Best Practices Guidelines, as set forth by the Mobile Marketing Assocation. The guide can be downloaded here
- Compliance with any rules or requirements set forth by Sprint from time to time regarding campaign guidelines. Check the Quios white paper for list of rules and requirements.
- De-activated phone numbers must be removed from all your services within 24 hour of receipt.
- Messages destined to invalid or blocked Sprint phone numbers shall comprise no more than 25% of all messages delivered per month.
- Billable events destined to invalid or blocked Sprint phone numbers shall comprise no more than 25% of all billable events delivered per month.
Sprint may enforce the following penalties if you do not meet the standards outlined above:
- Sprint, in its sole discretion, may terminate a campaign that is determined to be in non-compliance.
- Sprint may recover any 'reasonable and documented out-of-pocket costs' to a maximum amount for any single breach or series of related breaches equal to the lesser of (a) 20% of the amount owed to the content provider in that month or (b) USD $30,000 for the initial breach, USD $50,000 in the event of a second breach of the same Sprint standard, or USD $100,000, in the event of a third breach of the same Sprint standard. These amounts may be set off from any fees or revenue share owed to you.
MMA Releases update to Consumer Best Practices Guideline
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) today released an update to the Consumer Best Practices Guide. The guide provides content providers with specific guidelines on how to set up and manage mobile campaigns.
Here are the key changes:
Here are the key changes:
- Use of 'free' terminology in advertising and promotion
- Marketing to children
- Processing of carrier deactivation files and management of spending cap limits
- Viral marketing
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Cingular and Credit Card Billing
Cingular has released a new edition of their 'customer experience' policy document. The biggest change pertains to alternative (ie. non-premium SMS) forms of payment. With immediate effect, Cingular will no longer accept short code campaigns that use non-premium SMS based forms of payment (credit card, Paypal, etc.).
Cingular used to allow non-premium SMS forms of payment as long as premium SMS was promoted as the 'primary' form of payment.
New campaigns that include alternative payment methods will be rejected. All existing campaigns need to comply ASAP with the new policy to avoid any danger of short code termination.
Cingular used to allow non-premium SMS forms of payment as long as premium SMS was promoted as the 'primary' form of payment.
New campaigns that include alternative payment methods will be rejected. All existing campaigns need to comply ASAP with the new policy to avoid any danger of short code termination.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Carriers and disconnected numbers
The relationship between people, mobile numbers, and carriers is not static. Actually, it's surprisingly dynamic. People change phone numbers when they move. Or they get suspended for non-payment or other reasons. Or they keep the number, but change carriers (also called 'churn'). When numbers get de-activated, carriers typically re-assign them to other customers within 1-3 months.
It is quite important for content providers to understand the fluid nature of number allocation and assignment, especially if the content provider is offering subscription services. If these changes are not implemented diligently, content providers risk billing the wrong people. This will lead to angry customer support calls, and to carriers shutting down the content provider's short codes.
Here's some carrier specific information regarding handling of number changes:
- Verizon : posts number changes on a daily basis. These include de-activations, suspensions, modifications, and blocking. A de-activation means that the number has been cancelled. A suspension means that the number is temporarily not available. A modification means that the number has changed, and blocking means that the number is not authorized to receive any premium billed transactions.
- Sprint, Cingular, and Dobson : post number changes on a weekly basis. Only provide de-activation information.
- Other carriers currently don't provide any number change information.
When receiving DEACT, or SUSPENSION notices, customers need to opt-out all numbers from all campaigns and stop sending any messages to these numbers. If one of these numbers makes a new opt-in request at a later date, the request can be honored.
When receiving MODIFY notices, customers need to change the subscribers phone number but can leave the subscriber opted-in. (Verizon only)
When receiving BLOCK notices, customers need to block the subscriber from engaging in any premium SMS transaction, even when the customer requests it. BLOCKed phone numbers become UNBLOCKED as soon as they show up on a DEACT feed. (Verizon only)
For Quios customers using the Quios Permission Management System (QPMS), no further action is required. Quios will handle all feeds and take the proper action without any intervention from the content provider. Customers who don't use QPMS will have to download the feeds from the Quios FTP site and implement the proper action. Failure to do so will lead to termination of the shortcode/campaign by the carriers.
It is quite important for content providers to understand the fluid nature of number allocation and assignment, especially if the content provider is offering subscription services. If these changes are not implemented diligently, content providers risk billing the wrong people. This will lead to angry customer support calls, and to carriers shutting down the content provider's short codes.
Here's some carrier specific information regarding handling of number changes:
- Verizon : posts number changes on a daily basis. These include de-activations, suspensions, modifications, and blocking. A de-activation means that the number has been cancelled. A suspension means that the number is temporarily not available. A modification means that the number has changed, and blocking means that the number is not authorized to receive any premium billed transactions.
- Sprint, Cingular, and Dobson : post number changes on a weekly basis. Only provide de-activation information.
- Other carriers currently don't provide any number change information.
When receiving DEACT, or SUSPENSION notices, customers need to opt-out all numbers from all campaigns and stop sending any messages to these numbers. If one of these numbers makes a new opt-in request at a later date, the request can be honored.
When receiving MODIFY notices, customers need to change the subscribers phone number but can leave the subscriber opted-in. (Verizon only)
When receiving BLOCK notices, customers need to block the subscriber from engaging in any premium SMS transaction, even when the customer requests it. BLOCKed phone numbers become UNBLOCKED as soon as they show up on a DEACT feed. (Verizon only)
For Quios customers using the Quios Permission Management System (QPMS), no further action is required. Quios will handle all feeds and take the proper action without any intervention from the content provider. Customers who don't use QPMS will have to download the feeds from the Quios FTP site and implement the proper action. Failure to do so will lead to termination of the shortcode/campaign by the carriers.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Verizon and Tracfone
Verizon Wireless has ended its premium billing relationship with Tracfone. Tracfone is an independent provider of prepaid wireless services.
Hence Tracfone subscribers who use the Verizon Wireless network will no longer be able to access premium SMS services. Roughly 1 million Tracfone users are impacted. Content providers need to opt-out all Tracfone users, and prevent them from attempting any PSMS transaction.
Contact us for the list of Tracfone MDNs (phone numbers).
Hence Tracfone subscribers who use the Verizon Wireless network will no longer be able to access premium SMS services. Roughly 1 million Tracfone users are impacted. Content providers need to opt-out all Tracfone users, and prevent them from attempting any PSMS transaction.
Contact us for the list of Tracfone MDNs (phone numbers).
Virgin Mobile
Quios is pleased to announce that it has added Virgin Mobile to its list of supported carriers. Virgin Mobile counts more than 3 million subscribers and as an MVNO uses the Sprint network.
Virgin Mobile will support standard and premium rate text campaigns (no binary or content download campaigns for now). We expect Virgin to start accepting new campaigns as of August 1, 2006.
Quios offers the widest coverage of all aggregators in the market, connecting to 11 US carriers: Verizon, Cingular Orange, Cingular Blue, Sprint, Nextel, Boost, T-Mobile, Dobson/Cellular One, Alltel, US Cellular, and Virgin Mobile.
Contact us for more information.
Virgin Mobile will support standard and premium rate text campaigns (no binary or content download campaigns for now). We expect Virgin to start accepting new campaigns as of August 1, 2006.
Quios offers the widest coverage of all aggregators in the market, connecting to 11 US carriers: Verizon, Cingular Orange, Cingular Blue, Sprint, Nextel, Boost, T-Mobile, Dobson/Cellular One, Alltel, US Cellular, and Virgin Mobile.
Contact us for more information.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Q1 2006 Subscriber numbers
The 10-Q quarterly reports to the SEC and press releases by various carriers offer a good insight in the latest subscriber numbers. We've aggregated the numbers below for your convenience.
According to the CTIA website, there are 213 million wireless subscribers in the US. Quios connects to over 93% of all wireless subscribers in the US.
According to the CTIA website, there are 213 million wireless subscribers in the US. Quios connects to over 93% of all wireless subscribers in the US.
| Wireless Carrier | Subscribers | Market Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cingular | 55,800,000 | 26.2% |
| Verizon Wireless | 53,020,000 | 24.9% |
| Sprint/Nextel/Boost | 48,900,000 | 23.0% |
| T-Mobile USA | 22,700,000 | 10.6% |
| Alltel | 10,800,000 | 5.1% |
| US Cellular | 5,500,000 | 2.6% |
| Dobson/Cellular One | 1,670,000 | 0.8% |
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Alltel Prepaid Customers
Alltel is implementing an enhancement to its billing platform that will prevent Alltel prepaid customers from being billed for premium SMS services. The tentative implementation date is May 8, 2006. This will lead to increased premium SMS failure rates from that day onwards. Alltel is working on a longer term solution to allow prepaid customers to purchase 3rd party content. It is anticipated that such solution will be released towards the end of this year.
At the same time, Alltel is increasing subscriber spending limits for 3rd party content to $35.00 per short code per user per month. Alltel is managing the enforcement of this spending cap. The previous limit was $25.00.
At the same time, Alltel is increasing subscriber spending limits for 3rd party content to $35.00 per short code per user per month. Alltel is managing the enforcement of this spending cap. The previous limit was $25.00.
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