In Short:
Bharti Airtel has launched India’s first AI-powered spam detection system to help customers avoid spam calls and messages. This free service will auto-activate for all users, working on smartphones through VoLTE calls. It processes billions of calls and messages daily, aiming to identify potential spam efficiently. Airtel developed the solution with 400 data scientists to enhance customer experience amid increasing complaints about unsolicited communications.
Bharti Airtel has launched India’s first network-driven, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered spam detection solution aimed at assisting customers in avoiding suspected spam calls and SMS messages. The service, unveiled on Wednesday, is designed to alert users in real-time, providing a significant solution to the persistent issue of spam communications for both prepaid and postpaid customers.
The spam detection solution is entirely free of charge and will be automatically activated for all Airtel customers without the need for a service request or application download. It operates on smartphones and is limited to VoLTE calls.
This initiative aligns with the stringent directives from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which has mandated telecom operators to combat the increasing tide of unsolicited commercial communications—a challenge that has led to a decline in customer satisfaction and a rise in complaints.
Airtel stated that customers will continue to receive calls from the 160-prefix series numbers, which are associated with banks, mutual funds, insurance companies, stockbrokers, and other financial institutions, as well as from corporates conducting transactional and service calls. Those customers who have not registered for Do Not Disturb (DND) and are subscribed to promotional communications will receive calls from a 10-digit number with the prefix 140.
“Spam has become a menace for customers. We have spent the last twelve months to solve this comprehensively,” stated Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bharti Airtel, during a press briefing. “Designed as a dual-layer protection, the solution integrates two filters: one at the network layer and another at the IT systems layer. Every call and SMS passes through this dual-layered AI shield,” he elaborated.
According to Vittal, the solution processes 1.5 billion messages and 2.5 billion calls daily within just 2 milliseconds. This ambitious effort effectively translates to processing one trillion records in real-time, enabled by AI technology. The solution has successfully identified approximately 100 million potential spam calls and 3 million spam SMS messages each day.
Engineered in-house by nearly 400 data scientists at Airtel, the AI-driven solution employs a proprietary algorithm for classifying calls and messages as “suspected spam.” The system analyzes multiple parameters, including the usage patterns of the caller or sender, the frequency of calls/SMS, and call duration, among other factors, in real-time. By cross-referencing this data against established spam patterns, the system accurately flags potentially problematic communications.
Moreover, the solution proactively alerts users to potentially harmful links received via SMS. Airtel has created a centralized database of blacklisted URLs, with an AI algorithm scanning each SMS in real-time to prevent users from inadvertently clicking on suspicious links. Additionally, the system is capable of detecting anomalies such as frequent changes in IMEI numbers, which are often indicative of fraudulent activity.
