I am single and ready to mingle, are you ready? Call me on …
I am alone tonight, if u want to talk to me call me on ...
Have a mood refreshing and crispy talk with your friends on ...
These messages on their mobile phones can cause a storm in the minds of youngsters, looking for companionship or to end their feelings of loneliness. Most of these messages are sent by private content providers to engage the wavering minds in pep talk and in the process make a quick buck.
A teenaged-boy from the city had committed suicide a few years ago after he blew up lakhs of rupees on an ‘illegal friendship club’ to engage in ‘friendly chatting’ with women on the mobile phone. He had deposited money into the account numbers given by the women to continue the sweet talk little knowing that he was being cheated. He had taken the extreme step as he had stolen money from his home and felt ashamed to show his face to his parents.
One may argue that it was an isolated case. But, even if there is no cheating, the high costs of calls on such talk can put youngsters in similar situations.
‘Value-Added Services’
These ‘value-added services’ are offered by ‘content providers’, who register with the mobile service operators, both private and the public sector BSNL, and offer services under heads like: ‘romance’, ‘horoscope’, ‘sports’ and ‘medical’.
The content providers, after obtaining licence from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), take a server, an IVRS connection and data connection from the mobile service providers and start their business, according to sources in the BSNL.
“The minimum call tariff for these services is ₹3 a minute and it goes up depending on the type of service offered by the content provider. The content provider pays ₹1.20 paise a minute on such calls to the mobile service operator as per the agreement between them,” according to the sources.
There are about 18 mobile service providers including the BSNL in the country but the content providers are estimated to run into hundreds. This shows the huge demand for such services.
Apart from youngsters being lured into making calls, the messages and calls are of ‘nuisance value’ to others, disturbing their busy schedules. Rural folk and semi-literate persons may consider them important and call back.
