Peter Dobrow
Director, External Communications
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Bellevue, Wash.

Here is what T-Mobile is doing to help thwart spam:

T-Mobile is committed to providing the best customer experience in wireless for its 28.7 million customers. We have extensive filters built into our network to help detect and block spam text messages being sent to customers handsets that originate from internet IP addresses. These filters are updated on an ongoing basis, including vigilant monitoring for newly emerging schemes. T-Mobile also provides tools on www.myt-mobile.com that allow customers to block these kinds of email messages from being sent to their handsets.

Here are T-Mobile's current practices:

T-Mobile is not currently able to block mobile-to-mobile SMS text messages from being sent to or received by individual customer's handsets without disabling critical network functions (such as over-the-air system updates and notices to customers of account changes sent to prevent fraud) and disabling customer services (such as mobile Amber Alerts, emergency services communications for schools and municipalities, text based paging services used by hospitals and the U.S. Army, and other on-demand alerts such as airline schedule updates, stock quotes, news, sports and weather). Although not currently available, T-Mobile is working toward solutions that would enable customers to block certain SMS text messages without interfering with these critical functions and services. T-Mobile does not charge for the text messages it sends to customers; other text messages that are delivered to a handset are billed accordingly.

Here is what customers can do:

Although customers cannot currently block mobile-to-mobile SMS text messages, customers can utilize the tools on www.myt-mobile.com to block email messages originating from an internet IP address from being sent to their handsets. In addition, many commercial text messages are sent by third-party content providers after customers have signed up to receive their services by downloading ringtones, or subscribing to daily horoscope or joke-of-the-day type messages. T-Mobile customers can stop further commercial messages from these third party vendors from being sent to their handsets by going to the website from which they purchased content and turning off alerts/notifications or entirely removing their @tmomail.net address from any mailing list.

Answers to other questions:

Q: How much incoming spam does T-Mobile block from customers' texting services?

A: There are thousands of attempts by the bad guys each and every day to send spam. It's impossible to quantify the huge number of messages our filters block.

Q: According to the Seattle Post Inteligencer (Feb. 8, 2006) Candace Heckman wrote "Customers of other carriers have reported that they have been able to have SMS messaging turned off by their companies. T-Mobile however uses text messaging to communicate with its customers, and so it will not disable the service, according to local T-Mobile salesmen." Is this quote accurate? It implies that T-Mobile CAN block incoming texts, but chooses not to. It also implies that other carriers allow customers to have incoming texts turned off. Is it accurate to say that T-Mobile is the only carrier that currently does NOT allow customers to completely opt out on incoming text messages?

A: Please see our practices above. We cannot speak to other carriers' practices.

Q: Customers have told me that they were guaranteed by salesmen that the text messaging on their phones would not be "hooked up." Is this even possible? Were the salesmen (at T-Mobile kiosks in local malls) lying? What recourse do these customers now have, since they claim to have signed the contract based on the fact they believed incoming text messages would not be part of their plans?

A: Any such statements are inconsistent with T-Mobile practices. We'd like to know who is saying this so that we can correct it.

Q: Does T-Mobile have any response to the lawsuit filed recently in US District court on behalf of Maria Detwiler?

A: It is T-Mobile's policy to not comment on pending litigation.