Spam calls may soon become a thing of the past, to Bharti Airtel customers at least. In a groundbreaking move to tackle the growing menace of spam calls and messages, Airtel today launched what’s being billed as “India’s first AI-powered, network-based spam detection solution,” for its customers.
The “in-house” tool aims to provide Airtel customers with real-time alerts on suspected spam calls and SMSes, significantly lowering the frequency of such unwanted communication.
Airtel’s Managing Director and CEO, Gopal Vittal, highlighted the severity of the problem. In a press release sent over email, Vittal said, “Spam has become a menace for customers. We’ve spent the last twelve months solving this comprehensively. Today marks a milestone as we launch the country’s first AI-powered spam-free network.”
This free-of-cost solution is automatically activated for all Airtel users which is to say that there is no need to raise a service request or download any app to access it.
The telco, India’s second largest, explained that the system works by employing a dual-layered “AI shield” that filters every call and SMS at both, the network as well as IT system levels. The capacity being quoted seems fairly impressive, too. Vittal revealed it can process an astounding 1.5 billion messages and 2.5 billion calls daily while identifying 100 million potential spam calls and 3 million spam messages each day.
Airtel’s AI-powered solution, developed in-house by its data scientists, uses a proprietary algorithm to classify calls and SMSes as “Suspected SPAM” by analysing caller behaviour, call frequency, and other parametres, all in real time. The system is designed to flag suspicious communications “accurately” but by how much, remains unclear at the time of writing.
Additionally, it can scan SMSes for malicious links sending out alerts if they contain any potentially harmful link through a “centralised” database of blacklisted URLs. Furthermore, the solution is capable of detecting fraudulent behaviour by tracking frequent IMEI changes, a common indicator of scams.
“For us, keeping our customers secure is a burning priority,” added Vittal. This AI-powered system is designed to shield them from the “continuous onslaught of intrusive and unwanted communications.”
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