Premium SMS, Premium MMS and Premium Voice Services are messages, photos or calls that usually originate from numbers beginning with ‘19’ – Premium Services. The products that are distributed via these Premium SMS Services may consist of:

    • Psychic & Astrology Lines
    • Weather Services
    • Dating & Chat Services
    • Voting Lines for TV Shows or Competitions
    • Ringtones or Wallpaper Content
    • Adult Services
    • Exam Results Hotlines

End-users pay a premium on top of normal transmission calls to use such services. Prices range from $0.25 and $6.60 per messaged received/sent and may be a ‘one-off’ or re-occurring charge i.e. ‘subscription’. Premium services are often referred to as Value Added services.

Premium SMS services may be advertised across a range of media types, including but not limited to television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet. Regulations stipulate that Premium SMS service advertisements prominently set out the nature of the deliverable content, subscription timeframes, if appropriate, and clearly set out pricing information.

Subscribing and Unsubscribing

The end-user must receive a monthly reminder of their subscription every 30 days. In addition, they must also be sent a notification SMS once $30.00 has been spent via the Premium SMS service. These notifications must be free of charge to the end-user. Further, end-users must be able to unsubscribe by replying ‘STOP’ to the short code/19 Premium SMS server they are subscribed to.

Once the end-user has unsubscribed, the service provider must send a confirmation to the end-user via SMS to this effect. This must take place within 24 hours of the request being made.

Further information may be found on the Communication Alliance website – www.19sms.com.au – which includes service provider contact details that may be acquired by entering the 19 Premium SMS number.

Premium Voice Services

These services involve a phone call instead of sending or receiving SMS’s. The phonenumbers connected with these services also start with ‘19’ followed by 00 or 02 (for general services) or 01 for services that are of an age-restricted nature. The latter can only be accessed after the user goes through an ‘opt-in’ procedure and are generally regarded ‘sex-services’.

Premium Voice Services are advertised via similar media as Premium SMS services; the billing occurs via a ‘per minute’ or a ‘per call (dropcharge)’ charging mechanism. Prices may vary between $0.50 per minute upto $35.00 for a dropcharge type call.