The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will introduce stricter measures to combat spam calls and messages from September 1. Any entity found misusing telecom resources for spamming will face immediate disconnection and a two-year ban from all telecom operators. This is aimed at deterring spammers who exploit SIP/PRI lines for unsolicited communications.
To further safeguard consumers, messages containing non-whitelisted URLs or APKs will be blocked. Telecom operators must implement traceability systems by October 31, 2024, to track the origin of spam messages.
In response to concerns about spam calls, Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, Minister of State for Communications, highlighted the existing Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR-2018). Despite 22 crore subscribers registering their preferences in the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry, unregistered telemarketers (UTMs) continue to bypass regulations, leading to over 12 lakh complaints in 2023. To combat this, telecom operators have employed AI and machine learning to detect and take action against violators.
TRAI’s initiatives have shown success, with customer complaints against registered telemarketers dropping significantly between 2021 and 2023, from over 4 lakh to under 1.4 lakh.
