Finally, all those afflicted by unwanted calls and SMSs advocating the benefits of sauna slim belts and 3-BHK apartments in Noida will find some relief in Trai?s latest attempt to curb the nuisance. The latest (and much delayed) registry, called the National Customer Preference Registry, comes with stricter rules and harsher punishments. For one, telemarketers are strictly not allowed to message or call those who register themselves on the registry. Customers can either opt to receive no messages or calls, or receive only those pertaining to areas of interest that they specify on the registry. The previous Do Not Call Registry tried this, making telemarketers register with Trai, and keeping a list of all those customers who did not want to be disturbed. However, the attempt was a failure on most counts, with many telemarketers just not registering with Trai, and many others using private numbers to send their messages from. The new registry, with its new penalties starting at R25,000 and going up to R2.5 lakh, with the threat of being blacklisted after the sixth offence, will deter most telemarketers. The rest, who use private numbers, will feel the pinch of another one of Trai?s rules: curtailing the number of SMSs allowed to be sent to 100 per day per SIM, and 3,000 per month per SIM for post-paid connections. Trai?s argument is that very few people send more than 100 SMSs per day and so the cap won?t be an inconvenience for the ordinary citizen, but already the provision has shown that it could be potentially problematic. Now, institutions like schools and banks, which send bulk SMSs for non-advertising purposes, will each have to go to Trai for exemptions, thereby making the process more complicated than it need be. Less irksome solutions that could have been found include allowing termination charges on SMSs?once this is allowed, telcos will no longer be able to sell bulk SMSs at the rates they do today, taking some of the sheen off the business. Also, keeping a tab on what buyers of bulk SMSs do would help curb the menace of unwanted SMSs. Along with these restrictions, telemarketers will also have to attach the prefix ?140? before their number, so customers can tell when they call.
The rules are by and large welcome, and seem to be comprehensive, but keeping in mind how easily the previous versions were bypassed, the key will still lie with how effectively Trai is able to implement them.
