Spam is something we have to deal with, but more and more steps are taken to prevent unsolicited messages to appear on your mobile phone or in your mailbox. The Internet is full of spam and spam also made its way into the mobile telecommunication business.

It is a cheap way to advertise your company, especially when you are able to send text messages to millions of people. However, legal action is taken against those companies who use spam for advertising their products or services. One such case happened in Australia.

According to Cellular News, the Australian telecoms regulator, ACMA, has won an intermediate court order against three firms which were accused of sending SMS Spam. The companies are Mobilegate, Winning Bid and International Machinery Parts, the last has been deregistered.

ACMA has accused these companies of sending unsolicited SMS messages to Australian mobile phone users via premium rate telephone shortcodes. Winning Bid was ordered to remove or deactivate fictitious profiles on dating websites or social networking websites it has registered or placed.

"This is an important case for the Australian Communications and Media Authority", said Chris Chapman, ACMA Chairman, for Cellular News. "We want to get the message out that the Spam Act applies to more than just email … it applies to all commercial electronic messages, which very much includes SMS."

The battle is not over, however. The interlocutory order was granted on 22 May 2009 and a final hearing date has to be set.