There have been several instances like the bomb blasts, candlelight vigils, postponement of events etc. where SMSes proved to be an important mode of communication. There are occasions when a common message sent to all your important contacts does the needful. But TRAI is not in a mood to rethink on the limit of 100 SMSes per day per SIM. So what could be an effective alternate to bulk SMSes?
Being in communication business, event manager Richa Gupta is used to sending bulk messages to share information with the people concerned. However, now she has shifted to other mediums like BBM, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and emails. “People with better technology won’t suffer but those who are not tech-savvy may face trouble. SMSes are an important part of communication for those who don’t use smart phones and thus can get the information on the go.”
Calling is a real hassle and that too when you want to convey the message to a large group. It will take hours when an SMS can do that job in a few seconds. “This regulatory act from TRAI is unreasonable and annoying. But the best alternate to bulk messages is no doubt the social networking websites. We’ve already been disseminating information through Facebook and Twitter, but now we will rely more on them,” says Indranil Roy, a management executive.
However, social media and technology consultant Nikhil Kumar Verma feels that there really isn’t and shouldn’t be an alternate to bulk SMSes and it would defeat the whole purpose of TRAI imposing the limit in the first place. “Information should be by solicitation and most of us are networked enough to find relevant information via channels other than SMS. If you know you can only receive 100 messages, you will do something to get rid of the spam you receive. Relevance is the key today. I can still subscribe to updates from news services, forward relevant stuff to friends,” he says.