Unauthorised telemarketing has increased over last one year and on an average 46,402 complaints are received per month by the service providers regarding the pesky calls and messages.
“It is observed that complaints related to unauthorised telemarketing activity from un-registered telemarketers (who are not registered with TRAI), has increased during last one year,” Minister of State for Communications and IT Milind Deora said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
Between August 5, 2012 and August 4, 2013, a total of 5,56,834 complaints were received with the access service providers, which is an average of 46,402 complaints per month, he added.
The figure stood at 1,49,882 complaints for the period from September 27, 2011 to August 4, 2012, which is an average of 14,998 per months, he added.
Sectoral regulator TRAI has laid down a framework through Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010, for addressing unsolicited commercial communications and these regulations came into force with effect from September 27, 2011.
The Authority has also issued various amendments to these regulations and a number of directions to make the regulatory framework more effective, Deora said.
Through an amendment issued on November 5, 2012, Trai has mandated the access service providers to put in place a solution, which will ensure that no commercial SMSes are sent having same or similar characters or variants from any source or number.
“The solution will ensure that no more than 200 SMSes with such similar signature are sent in an hour,” Deora added.
Another amendment in the regulations issued in May 2013, provides for disconnection of all the telecom resources of subscribers sending unsolicited calls or SMSs, blacklisting of the name and address of such subscribers for two years.
Also no telecom resources shall be allocated to such blacklisted subscribers by any access provider for two years.
Deora said in pursuance of these efforts of TRAI, a total of about three lakh telephone connections of un-registered telemarketers have been disconnected by the access service providers and the name and address of 25,295 such subscribers have been put into the blacklist.