No solution for web-generated pesky SMSes: Sibal

The government currently has no mechanism to control unwanted commercial calls and messages generated through the internet, Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday.

"People are very smart now (and) they are using internet to send such messages. Now we don't have any control on the internet," Sibal said while addressing the Economic Editors Conference.

"The internet is a difficult thing to regulate because the server may be somewhere else outside the country. You may put your calls or message through that server. How will we deal with that server over which we have no jurisdiction," he asked.

The government had introduced a regulation last month which barred unwanted commercial calls and messages from disturbing mobile subscribers by levying huge penalties on the defaulters, including fines ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 250,000.

To make the telemarketing firms identifiable, the regulation also ensured that their phone numbers begin with '140'.

However, after silence of a couple of weeks, the pesky messages have again started nagging customers. According to reports, many of these messages are generated online.