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Welcome to Powercom Interactive Media P/L

At Powercom we endeavour to bring you the best and most technically advanced services that are available on today’s market, for Consumers and Business Partners.

Our innovative Brands, Partners and Services will suit your marketing needs.

 

End User?

If you use one of our Premium Rate Services, and you would like to read our Terms and Conditions, please click here.

If you are subscribed to our newsletter, for instance via email or SMS, and you would like to unsubscribe, please email 'unsubscribe' to info@pcim.com.au or to cancel your SMS alerts, please reply stop via your mobile phone to cancel.

For any further inquiries regarding our services, possibilities or opportunities, please call 1300-133 200 or email us at info@pcim.com.au
 

 

 

© 2010 Powercom Interactive Media Pty Ltd

 

 

 

 

The value-added market on Premium Rate Numbers and Premium SMS services

Powercom interactive has been on the Australian market for almost a decade. Also known under the name of PCIM, Powercom offers a variety of services to the enduser or the direct marketeer. Better known as a full-service bureau in the market, Powercom is able to help the Information Provider as well as the Service Provider. For more general information on Value-Added Services click here. Powercom operates its own call centre in Australia, the latter making Powercom also a Content Provider. Most of the products or services that are offered by Powercom Interactive Media are Premium Rate or Value Added Services. They are mostly charged to the enduser via the telephone bill. Examples of Value Added Services are Services offered via 1901, 1902 or 1900 Telstra InfoCall Service Numbers. Powercom is also an official Reseller for Telstra Infocall Services. The Infocall services have a couple of number ranges: 1300 for call that are charged against local call cost, 1800 numbers that are free of charge and the 1900 range that varies between AUD  0.55 and AUD 5.50 (inclusive of GST) per minute. The 1900 range can also be charged per call. This is called Fixed Call Rate or Drop Charge Calls, up to AUD 35.00. Within the 190x range, the 1901 range is meant for erotic telephone lines (sexlines and erotic chatlines) for which the caller ahs to opt-in or subscribe to 1901. To make the 1901 service available to your phone, the potential 1901 caller has to go to a Telstra-shop, identify himself, bring identification and sign a number of documents stating that he is aware of the consequences of having access to 1901 numbers. Children sharing the same household could with this opt-in or making available of 1901 services also have access so sexlines, sexchatlines or other erotic entertainment lines. On the other 190x or 1900 ranges, such as 1902 and 1900, it is not possible to run erotic chatlines or sex telephonelines. Whether the Information Provider, the Content Provider or the Service Bureau complies with and abide the law, is being checked continuously by the Telephone Information Services Standard Council TISSC (www.tissc.com.au). TISSC is an independent regulatory body funded by the Telephone Information Services Industry.

Another Premium Value Added Service is Premium SMS. Premium SMS is often used for Micro-Payments. Content is being delivered and the receiver pays for this content via his or her mobile phone. Instead of the normal price for a sms, the price is higher. The extra charges on top of the normal sms transmission costs are the actual billing for the delivered product. SOmetimes premium SMS is charged MO (mobile Originated) or MT (Mobile Terminated). Mobile Originated means that the SMS sender is the handset, whilst Mobile Terminated is being sent from the SMS-C where the contant provider is connected to. Mobile Terminated MT in relation to billing is often called Mobile Terminated Reversed Billed (or MTRB), because the handset or mobile phone owner gets charged when he receives a SMS. Mostly the SMS contains a link to the Content, for instance to a Mobile Web or Mobile WWW or WAP application. It could also be a MMS that contains a picture that the owner of the phone requested. Sometimes MT billed SMS is combined with a subscription model. The owner of the mobile phone sends in a SMS request for certain content, and the Content Provider now weekly sends a Mobile Terminated Reversed Billed SMS (MTRB SMS) until the phone owner sends in a stop request. Nowadays there are less subscriptions and subscription based models on the market, because of abuse of the MT RB SMS billing systems. The premium SMS market is being monitored and policed by the TIO. The TIO garantees that customers are treated fair and according to the SMS code of Conduct or Code of Practice. Also the ACMA supervises parts of the Telecomunications Market in Australia.

The Mobile Premium Services Code sets out detailed rules covering a range of important matters including procedures to be followed for subscribing to premium SMS services (including a ‘double opt-in’ requirement); the banning of advertisements targeted at children under 15; strict rules about how advertisements (and charges) are displayed; and improved complaints handling obligations of companies supplying premium SMS services.

The Communications Alliance commenced a review of the code on 5 July 2010. A copy of the code and information about its review is available here. The rules for advertising premium rate services are governed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).