On Tuesday, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) rolled out the newest version of its US Consumer Best Practices (CBP) Guidelines for Cross-Carrier Mobile Content Services.
The new guidelines take effect April 1st, 2011.
Revised twice annually, the guidelines are “the cross-carrier industry standard for mobile content services such as text messaging (SMS), multimedia messaging (MMS), common short code programs and Interactive Voice Response (IVR).”
The guidelines are produced via the MMA’s CBP Committee and provide measures of acceptable and unacceptable practices for all players in the U.S. mobile marketplace.
The guidelines also serve as the benchmarks for the four largest U.S. wireless service providers – Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA (although on the heels of AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, this may be the last guidelines revision that has four major carriers to acknowledge).
The major updates and additions in version 6.0 include:
- Cross-carrier standards separated into standalone sections by billing type, specifically standard rate and premium SMS, in order to make the document easier to use.
- New standard-rate guidelines, which extend the automatic opt-out period due to inactivity from six to 18 months and the addition of terms on how to migrate an opt-in from one code to another.
- Updates to the Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA mobile marketing guidelines and codes of conduct known as carrier playbooks.
“The MMA Consumer Best Practices Guidelines is the industry-standard and reference guide for all constituents of the mobile marketing ecosystem to access definitive answers for ensuring consistency across campaigns and protecting the consumer experience,” said Michael Becker, managing director of North America for the MMA. “Through regular updates, the guidelines are designed to anticipate and address changing industry needs and opportunities.”
The new guidelines are available for download now at www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf.
The MMA will host a webinar on April 5, 2011 to review the changes in the CBP and to answer industry questions.
