Spam calls are becoming a regular nuisance for a large number of Indian mobile phone customers. These unwanted calls might even be frauds, interrupting routines and wasting time. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has put in place a new set of guidelines targeted at reducing spam calls and safeguarding customers in order to address this expanding issue.
TRAI: The Watchdog of Indian Telecom
The governing body in charge of the Indian telecommunications industry is called TRAI, and it was founded by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997. It is a self-governing body within the Ministry of Communications that is essential to maintaining consumer protection, fair competition, and effective telecom resource allocation.
New Directives: A Multi-Pronged Approach
A complete set of instructions was released by TRAI on August 13, 2024, mostly directed against unregistered telemarketers, who are the main source of spam calls. These instructions address the problem from several points of view:
- Immediate Call Removal: Access Service Providers (ASPs), the businesses that offer consumers mobile phone services, are now required to stop all promotional voice calls coming from unregistered sources right away. This means that calls made utilizing unregistered telecom resources like SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) or PRI (Primary Rate Interface) would be banned.
- Penalties for Violations: TRAI has imposed severe fines for ASPs who neglect to take action against unregistered telemarketers in order to discourage non-compliance. One of these penalties is blacklisting violators and disconnecting their telecom resources for a maximum of two years. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) will be used to distribute the blacklist information so that all ASPs are aware of the blacklisted businesses and may immediately disconnect their resources.
- DLT Platform Migration: Within a month, unregistered telemarketers, or Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs), must switch to the DLT platform. Using the DLT platform, which functions as a central registry, companies may register and get the required rights for their telemarketing operations. This guarantees more accountability and openness in telemarketing operations.
- Compliance Reporting Requirements: TRAI has required ASPs to produce compliance reports on a regular basis in order to track the effectiveness of these measures. These reports, which include the steps taken to punish offenders, are due on the first and sixteenth of every month.
A Brighter Future for Mobile Communication
The fresh suggestions from TRAI are a big step in the right direction against spam calls. The goal of TRAI multipronged strategy is to target both ASPs and UTMs in order to improve India’s telecom landscape and make it more safe and user-friendly. Although the whole effects of these actions may take time to show, Indian mobile phone customers, who have long been troubled by the threat of spam calls, should welcome this positive development.
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