< Far from preventing illegal spam, large telecommunication companies 'lead the way' (SBS 8 News article on August 15, 2022)> Many people agreed with the content of the report.

This means that spam messages are overflowing in our daily life.

I also get spam messages from time to time, but I end up swearing and deleting and blocking them.

But someone did.

"Our people are so kind. Even if they receive spam, they do not properly protest. They are not enjoying their right not to receive spam."

It was the moment of 'whale car' that I thought I should cover.



After reading the comments after the report, I thought I should reply.


'Did the reporter take out SKT for money?

Why don't you talk about SKT?'

→ I didn't get it!


'Somehow, after moving to SKT, there was less spam' → Well...

.


I made the following figure to better explain the article <Far from preventing illegal spam, but a large news agency 'leading' the distribution.

The three major mobile carriers SKT, KT, and LG U+ have national key communication networks.

They lease communication networks to intermediaries and resellers (agents).

These agencies contract with companies that want to send bulk text messages.

Depending on the capacity, the market price ranges from the low 7 won to the low 50 won per case.

When the contract is concluded, the agencies send the requested text message to the customer in bulk.



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Among the companies, there are many healthy places such as banks and distributors that ask customers for text messages such as deposit and withdrawal details and discount information.

The problem is malicious companies that request spam messages such as illegal gambling, adult material, and illegal finance.

Agencies cannot look at text messages from malicious vendors.

Because it contains personal information.

So, it is said that spam texts are managed at the level of filtering specific words and numbers.

This is the process through which spam text messages are currently circulating.


Why KT · LG U+ is included and SKT is not

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Agencies make money by contracting with many companies.

Even if you know it's a malicious company, you have no choice but to sign a contract.

Then, they give reasons such as 'they are filtering as much as possible', 'if the filtering is too strong, even a normal message cannot be reached'.

It is said that the car fumes that you can only drink while walking on the street are spam text messages.



Meanwhile, the mass text service market has exceeded 1 trillion won.

Setting up an agency is a money-making business.

This is where KT and LG U+ jumped in.

In other words, it has expanded its scope to direct retail beyond the level of wholesale that simply leases the communication network.

On the other hand, SKT did not set up an agency directly.

This is what sets it apart from the other two carriers.



Of course, in the case of SKT, its subsidiaries (SKB, SKB) operate as agencies.

In the current 'spam hell' situation, it cannot be said that SKT is also not responsible as a national key telecommunications company.

However, it could not be bundled with KT and LG U+, which have communication networks and run agencies directly.

It was also noted that the spam rate of the two carriers was low compared to the spam rate.


If I switch to SKT, which does not directly operate, will spam be reduced?

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For those of you who have commented, 'Somehow, after moving to SKT, there was less spam', that must be the feeling.

Currently, the three mobile carriers are using the same level of spam filtering.

This means that when agencies send bulk text messages to 3rd party networks, it's not just that specific carriers are using more enhanced filtering.



If so, agencies are at the forefront of filtering out spam.

Filtering out as much spam as possible at the agency stage can help consumers escape 'spam hell'.

Therefore, during the contracting process with a company, agencies must make efforts to self-reflect by examining whether the company is a professional spam sender, and taking measures such as canceling the contract when it is confirmed that they are a spam sender.



As mentioned in the report, there is an agency with a spam rate of 0%.

If agencies don't put in their efforts, the government must step in.

Because we have the right to be free from spam text messages.



(CG: Jihye Jang)