Australia to stop regulating SMS services

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has decided to no longer regulate SMS services because over-the-top (OTT) messaging services like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and iMessage provide enough competition in the sector. With several competitors, SMS services do not represent a bottleneck to accessing the end user. Therefore, companies will be free to set SMS charges. In 2015, the ACCC had regulated SMS pricing for the first time, however, the Commission recognizes the market has changed considerably since then. The ACCC holds that voice services will continue to be regulated, because OTT voice services do not replace yet mobile voice calls. They do not offer the same access and quality of traditional voice services.