TRAI cracks down on unregistered telemarketers, spam callers

Tough Measures

• All unregistered telemarketers must migrate to DLT platform within a month
  
• Telcos to submit fortnightly reports on action taken against spam calls
  
• TRAI warns of strict action against entities misusing bulk connections for spam calls
  

New Delhi: Sector regulator TRAI on Tuesday directed telcos to disconnect all telecom resources of unregistered telemarketers found making spam calls, and to blacklist them for up to two years.

Further, TRAI has asked telcos to comply immediately with its latest directive and submit regular updates on action taken in this regard on a fortnightly basis. Issuing its directive to telcos, TRAI said this "decisive action" is expected to significantly reduce spam calls and provide relief to consumers.

TRAI in a release said it has issued "directives to access providers to disconnect all telecom resources of unregistered senders for making spam calls and to blacklist such senders under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018" regulations.

Towards this, TRAI has mandated all access service providers to stop voice promotional calls whether pre-recorded or computer generated or otherwise from all unregistered senders or telemarketers (UTMs) using bulk connections or other telecom resources.

"... All promotional voice calls from the unregistered Senders/ Unregistered Telemarketer (UTMs) using Telecom Resources (SIP/ PRI/ other telecom resources) shall be stopped immediately," TRAI said.

If any unregistered telemarketer or sender is found to be misusing telecom resources for making commercial voice calls in violation of the regulations resulting in consumer complaints, all its telecom resources will be disconnected by the primary telecom service provider for a period up to two years. Further, such unregistered entities will be blacklisted for a period up to two years.

"...Information regarding blacklisting of the sender shall be shared by the OAP (Originating Access Provider) with all other access providers on DLT platform, within 24 hours, who will, in turn, disconnect all the telecom resources given by them to that sender within the next 24 hours," TRAI said. New telecom resources would not be allocated to them by any access provider during the period of blacklisting.

"All the unregistered Senders/ Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs) using SIP/PRI/ other telecom resources to make commercial voice calls to the citizen shall be migrated to the DLT platform within one month of the issue of this direction and submit compliance report within seven days thereafter," TRAI said.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed all telcos to comply with its latest directive and submit regular updates on the actions taken on the first and sixteenth of every month. The regulator has declared an all-out war against the rising menace of spam calls - last week TRAI had had warned that telcos will disconnect the telecom resources of entities that are found misusing bulk connections for making spam calls, and such entities would face blacklisting by all operators for up to two years.

TRAI held a meeting with regulatory heads of all the Telecom Service Providers last Thursday. The meeting, Chaired by TRAI Chief, was attended by the Chief Regulatory Officers of Airtel, BSNL, Quadrant Televentures Limited (QTL), Reliance Jio, Tata Teleservices Limited, Vodafone Idea Limited and V-CON Mobile & Infra Private Limited.