New Delhi: Consumer spam complaints have declined by 20%, from 1.89 lakh in August 2024 to 1.51 lakh in October 2024, following the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) published its spam directive on August 13. Businesses in India must register their message templates and headers with telecom operators, according to regulations.
These spam directions instructed telemarketers to register on telecom companies’ Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Platform within one month and submit a compliance report within seven days of doing so. If telemarketers fail to do so, telcos have to blacklist them for a period of two years and cross-share this information with other telcos over the DLT platform within 24 hours of blacklisting.
According to TRAI, after this guideline, telecom companies have made extensive efforts, resulting in a significant decrease in complaints regarding spam calls. As a result, spam complaints fell by 13% from August to September and another 13% from September to October.
In addition to the August 13 directive, TRAI issued another spam-related order on August 21. This required telecom companies to ensure all messages sent by businesses are traceable.
These measures align with TRAI’s February Quality of Service guidelines, which instructed telcos to collect detailed information about all telemarketers businesses use to communicate with customers. If a message’s origin cannot be clearly traced or the information provided is inconsistent, telcos are mandated to block it.
TRAI stated that all Access Providers have implemented the required technical solutions and highlighted its efforts to raise awareness about anti-spam measures. As a result, over 13,000 principal entities (businesses) have registered their telemarketing chains with telcos, with more registrations underway.
The regulator also confirmed that telcos have issued notices to businesses and telemarketers who have yet to comply with the changes.
TRAI has intensified its efforts to combat spam and is currently revising the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), 2018. As part of the proposed amendments, the regulator aims to make telcos more proactive by requiring them to survey users who receive suspected spam calls or messages.
Telcos are already taking steps to fight spam, with Airtel and BSNL launching AI-powered spam filters.
