In Short:
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has ordered telecom providers to cut off services to unregistered telemarketers who make spam calls. This includes pre-recorded and computer-generated calls. If a telemarketer misuses their telecom resources and receives consumer complaints, their services will be disconnected for up to two years. The originating provider must notify other telecom providers within 24 hours, who will also disconnect the services. No new resources can be allocated to these senders during the blacklist period. TRAI aims to reduce spam calls and improve consumer experience by enforcing these rules.
TRAI Takes Bold Step to Combat Spam Calls
What You Need to Know
The **Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)** has recently made a significant move aimed at tackling the incessant spam calls that plague consumers. They have instructed all **access service providers (ASPs)** to completely disconnect telecom resources linked to unregistered senders or telemarketers (UTMs) responsible for these annoying calls. This decision falls under the **Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018)**.
Types of Calls Affected
The regulation targets a range of voice calls, whether they’re pre-recorded, generated by a computer, or utilize other forms of telecom resources. This includes all calls that come through session initiating protocol (SIP) and primary rate interface (PRI).
Penalties for Misuse
If a UTM is found exploiting their telecom resources to make commercial voice calls that breach these regulations – and consequently, generate consumer complaints – then all their telecom resources could face disconnection. This measure, as outlined in regulation 25, could last for up to two years, depending on the severity of the violation.
Immediate Action and Information Sharing
In addition to penalizing individual offenders, the **originating access provider (OAP)** is required to share information about any blacklisted sender using a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform within 24 hours. Following this, all ASPs must disconnect their services to the sender within the next 24 hours. Even more crucially, no new telecom resources will be available to the blacklisted sender for the entire duration of their ban.
Ongoing Compliance
To ensure these regulations have teeth, TRAI has directed all ASPs to adhere strictly to the new guidelines and provide regular updates on their compliance efforts on the 1st and 16th of each month. This proactive approach by TRAI is anticipated to significantly cut down on spam calls, ultimately bringing much-needed relief to consumers.
