The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has implemented stringent measures to address the ongoing issue of spam calls and SMS, resulting in noticeable improvements in curbing such practices.
Reduction in Spam Call Complaints
On August 13, 2024, TRAI issued directives enforcing strict penalties for entities engaging in unauthorized promotional calls. These penalties include disconnection of telecom resources, blacklisting for up to two years, and restrictions on acquiring new resources during the blacklisting period. Following these measures, Access Providers reported a marked decline in complaints. Registered complaints against unregistered senders dropped from 1.89 lakh in August 2024 to 1.63 lakh in September 2024 (a 13% reduction) and further to 1.51 lakh in October 2024 (a 20% reduction compared to August).
Enhanced Message Traceability
To bolster message traceability, TRAI mandated on August 20, 2024, that all message trails—from senders to recipients—must be fully traceable starting November 1, 2024. Access Providers successfully implemented the required technical solutions. However, to accommodate the transition for technical upgrades and declaration processes by Principal Entities (PEs) and Telemarketers (TMs), TRAI extended the compliance deadline to November 30, 2024.
Raising Awareness and Stakeholder Engagement
To ensure awareness and compliance, TRAI has been conducting webinars with telecom operators and regulatory bodies. The first webinar, held on November 12, 2024, in partnership with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., engaged over 1,000 representatives from entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, PFRDA, and IRDAI. The second webinar, hosted with Vodafone Idea Ltd. on November 19, 2024, saw participation from over 800 representatives from Central and State Governments and similar regulatory bodies. Another session, scheduled for November 25, 2024, in association with Tata Teleservices Ltd., aims to involve additional stakeholders, including consumer organizations and fintech associations.
Progress in Principal Entity Registrations
Thanks to these efforts, over 13,000 Principal Entities (PEs) have already registered their telemarketing chains with Access Providers, and further registrations are ongoing. Warning notices have been issued to non-compliant PEs and TMs, urging them to complete their chain declarations promptly. TRAI has emphasized that any message failing to align with the declared telemarketer chain will be rejected, underlining the importance of timely compliance.
TRAI’s comprehensive approach has significantly contributed to combating spam calls and SMS, fostering a safer and more reliable telecom environment for consumers.