Apart from a code of conduct for premium SMS services developed by the wireless application service provider's association (WASPA), signed in September, no formal regulation governs the content provided to cellular users, particularly children.
By signing last week's agreement, the three major operators have committed themselves to ensuring that adult content and subscription-based content is delivered to the intended recipients responsibly, in what WASPA chairman, Leon Perlman has described as an evolving issue.
According to a press release issued at the signing ceremony, the success of the initiative relies on the operators putting in place access controls or filtering measures to control access to adult content.
While the code of good practice is in no way a censorship measure, operators have all agreed that WASPs will have to adhere to certain requirements, and take more accountability for the content they deliver, in order to make use of the operators' infrastructures.
Amongst the requirements are: only solicited messages and content are to be sent to users, and the ability to subscribe or unsubscribe from content delivery services was made easier for consumers.
Jim Courtney, chief commercial officer of Cell C, says that this agreement aims to promote the adoption of responsible processes and procedures for the provisioning of mobile services.
"The code will also ensure that operators can take the necessary steps to ensure that unsolicited commercial messages are eliminated, and that children are protected from unsuitable content," he says.
Ashraff Paruk, GM for products and innovation at MTN, adds that the code is a step in the right direction to a self-regulating industry, and that the operator will encourage WASPs to adhere to the guideline set out in both the WASPA code of conduct and the IRB Code.
Vodacom's Mthobi Tyamzashe, executive director: corporate affairs, comments that the steps taken to self-regulation are a step that will be appreciated by the regulator, Icasa.
"As important as the cellphone is in empowering individuals," he says, "it does not come without its challenges. Self-regulation will help to promote confidence in service and content providers, and provide a formal process for complaints."
Tyamzashe says that the operators can only do so much to protect consumers and children, but all the operators say that they already have basic age verification tools in place. At least one hinted at possible parental control measures in the not-too-distant future, although they do concede that 100 percent control was not possible in an all-IP world, and spammers' techniques do evolve.