TRAI orders telcos to disconnect all unregistered telemarketers making spam calls

Following exhaustive deliberations and open house discussions (OHDs) on spam or unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) and SMSs, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (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.

TRAI informed that there were more than 12-lakh complaints against unregistered telemarketer (UTM) senders during 2023 and more than 7.9 lakh complaints against UTM senders during first half of 2024.

The government has been looking to clamp down on the spike in such calls including those where scammers pose as representatives of reputed firms and extract sensitive financial information by sending phishing links in the pretext of retrieving lost packages.  The latest order is the telecom watchdog’s strictest action against promotional calls from unregistered callers as it looks to tackle a surge in spam and phishing calls that has seen people lose millions of rupees.

The order followed a meeting TRAI held with regulatory heads of all the telecom service providers (TSPs) last Thursday. The meeting was chaired by TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti and attended by the Chief Regulatory Officers of Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Quadrant Televentures Limited (QTL), Reliance Jio, Tata Teleservices Limited, Vodafone Idea Limited and V-CON Mobile & Infra Private Limited.

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TRAI’s directive

“If any unregistered sender/UTM is found to be misusing its telecom resources (SIP/ PRI/ other telecom resources) for making commercial voice calls in violation of the regulations resulting into consumer complaints against any one or more number of resource indicators allocated to the sender, all the telecom resources of such sender shall be disconnected by the originating access provider (OAP or TSP) for a period up to two years as per the provisions of the regulation 25 of the regulations,” TRAI said in its directive.

Some listed telemarketing companies said that the direction by TRAI will not impact them since they are not into spam calls. “This doesn’t affect us actually...It’s about spam calls and we’re not in that space,” a Bengaluru based company told businessline. 

Sources in the banking industry said TRAI’s directive to disconnect unregistered telemarketers is a crucial step in safeguarding customers from unsolicited and potentially fraudulent communications. “This measure will help protect our customers’ privacy and financial security, reinforcing trust in both telecom and banking services. We fully support this initiative to enhance customer confidence and security,” said sources.

Working on models

According to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), telecom service providers (TSPs) are currently working on bringing a few more models to address the issue of spam calls.

COAI and its members are also part of the committee formed by the Department of Consumer Affairs to tackle the menace of pesky calls from unregistered telemarketers, it said.

“The committee is working to prepare draft guidelines under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to safeguard consumers from UCCs. We believe that these guidelines, once notified, will be helpful in addressing the menace of UCC substantially as it will put a deterrence on the unregistered telemarketers,” SP Kochhar, Director General at COAI, had said last week.

Vasundhara Bhonsle, Chief – Customer Support and Operations, ICICI Lombard, says,“At ICICI Lombard, we have our own captive set-up and do not work with unregistered telemarketers. The announcement is a welcome move, as this will enhance customer experience and restrict non-compliant practices.”