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Mblox's Bud attacks content pricingAndrew Bud, executive chairman of Mblox, has launched a stinging attack on the mobile content industry's pricing policies. "A video clip that customers thought they were buying for £1.50 [can cost] £16.50," Bud told the Mail on Sunday. That's because some Virgin Mobile customers can end up paying a whopping £5 per megabyte. He goes on to complain that, "The situation is scandalous and it could strangle the [mobile content] industry at birth." Indeed it could. Unfortunately for poor Andrew, on paper it looks like he could be doing something about it. For starters, Bud is a board member of the industry enforcer, ICSTIS. Soon to be known as Phonepayplus. That's the same body which fined Mblox over the Crazy Frog scandal. This was part of the judgement … "The Hearing Panel has made clear that consumers should not be made to work to find out what any premium rate service involves or costs." Which is exactly what Bud is now complaining about. The judgement continued ..."Although the Panel found that there was no fraudulent or malicious intent behind the service, the companies concerned showed a careless disregard and unprofessional attitude to consumers in failing to be clear on the exact nature of the service." That was back in 2005. Nothing, according to Bud, has apparently changed in the meantime. Which is surprising since in addition to sitting on the Phonepayplus board, Andrew Bud is also executive chairman of the MEF. That's the Mobile Entertainment Forum which labels itself the "Global Voice of Mobile Entertainment." So if being inside Phonepayplus and the MEF hasn't helped matters, who exactly can force the provision of mobile content to be done in a clear and transparent manner?
The full Inquirer story ... Mobile content industry decries pricing policy
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