China's Ministry of Information Industry investigated and punished 541 short message service (SMS) operators in the mobile communications sector for wrongdoings in the first three months of this year, a source with the ministry said on Monday.

The Ministry launched a campaign in the first quarter to tackle problems related to complaints by SMS subscribers.

The key problems for the 541 SMS operators included price frauds and fraudulent advertisements.

The Ministry this year has listed the inspection of charges by telecommunications enterprises a top priority.

Source: Xinhua