A businessman was fined RM80,000.00 by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for using uncertified communication equipment namely SMS Blaster which has caused serious disruption to network and cellular services owned by local telecommunications companies.
The court made the decision after the accused pleaded guilty to four (4) charges brought against him by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The Accused, who is a 36-year-old local man, was charged with two (2) charges under Regulation 16(1)(b) of the Communications and Multimedia (Technical Standards) Regulations 2000 for using non-certified communication equipment namely SMS Blaster respectively each at Condominium Memoire Suites, Dua Central and EkoCheras, Kuala Lumpur.
On the other two (2) charges, the accused was charged under Regulation 34(5)(c) of the Communications and Multimedia (Spectrum) Regulations 2000 for using the SMS Blaster and causing disruption to the network and cellular services of licensed telecommunications companies. For all charges, the accused may have faced a fine not exceeding RM300,000.00 or imprisonment for a maximum of three (3) years or both.
As a result of the investigation by the MCMC Enforcement Division, it was found that the Modus Operandi carried out by accused was to install the SMS Blaster devices with antennas in condominium units adjacent to the highway.
The SMS Blaster has been modified into a fake base transceiver station and when the public’s mobile phone passes near the SMS Blaster, the 4G network and cellular service will be interrupted and regress to a 2G service platform after connecting to the fake BTS network.
As a result, the public began to receive advertising messages such as money loan service ads, gambling activity ads and so on through short message service (SMS).
In addition, this illegal activity also resulted in the problem of dropped calls as well as the quality of Internet service being less than satisfactory.
