As part of its crackdown on pesky calls, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday said it has blacklisted over 50 entities and disconnected more than 2.75 lakh mobile numbers/ telecom resources including unregistered telemarketers (UTMs) between January and June this year.
TRAI said it has observed a significant rise in spam calls, with over more than 7.9 lakh complaints reported against UTMs in the first half of the year (January to June). The move comes after TRAI asked telcos to blacklist and disconnect UTMs.
On August 13, TRAI has mandated the service providers to immediately stop promotional voice calls from unregistered senders or telemarketers using primary rate interface (PRI) and session initiating protocol (SIP) or other telecom resources under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-20 18). SIP and PRI are methods used by telemarketers to connect their calls through a regional telecom network.
Severe consequences
“Any UTM found to be misusing these resources will face severe consequences, including disconnection of all telecom resources for up to two years and blacklisting,” the sector regulator said.
It urged all the stakeholders to contribute to a “cleaner and more efficient telecom ecosystem”. In a bid to tighten norms on pesky callers, TRAI last week also asked the industry if a higher tariff should be introduced for calls and text messages beyond a certain number in a graded manner.
In a consultation paper, it has mooted telecom subscribers making over 50 calls or sending out even 50 SMS a day, should be scrutinised as potential pesky callers.