The telecom regulator has made key changes in regulations to curb pesky calls and SMSes. Jatin Grover gives a low-down on the new rules, which will be implemented in phases (30 and 60 days) and include an easy spam reporting mechanism, a do not disturb app, and penalties on telcos for non-compliance
Changes by Trai to curb spams
Through amendments to the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) aims to empower customers by giving them more control on dealing with unwanted calls and SMSes through provisions of preference and consent. Besides, Trai wants commercial communication such as promotional messages and calls, service related communication, etc., to be done through registered entities. Among key changes, Trai has categorised commercial communication into four categories — transactional, service, promotional, and government. Users will be given the option to opt out of promotional messages by telcos. To make it easy for consumers to identify the category of messages, Trai has mandated adding suffixes -P, -S, -T, and -G to the message header. The regulations say that a sender of commercial SMSes cannot make a request seeking consent of a customer who has opted out, before 90 days. Trai said there will be an ease in reporting spams, and users can complain about spam within seven days of receiving compared to three days earlier.
Will the changes help prevent spams?
Experts say Trai’s strict measures against spammers like suspension of telecom resources on repeated violations, financial disincentives on operators, the updated DND (do not disturb) app for users, among others, could limit spams. But, with the take-up of rich communication services, SMSes for marketing, and WhatsApp commercial communication, the gap will remain. It is out of Trai’s ambit. Trai has introduced an updated DND app that allows users to block such spam messages and calls, register complaints, and track the actions taken. Earlier, users complained of getting spams despite registering on telcos’ do-not-disturb service and even on the Trai DND app. Trai said five complaints against the sender in 10 days would prompt an action on spammers by telecom operators. The automated robocalls can now only be made from a special series of numbers.
Penalties and obligations on telcos
Misreporting the count of spam calls and messages could lead to a penalty of Rs 2 lakh for the first time, Rs 5 lakh for the second, and Rs 10 lakh for subsequent instances, on telecom operators, Trai said. The telecom operators have been mandated to analyse call and SMS patterns based on parameters such as unusually high call volumes, short call durations, and low incoming-to-outgoing call ratios to flag potential spammers in real time. Telcos are required to deploy honeypots, which are dedicated numbers that attract and log spam calls and messages, to analyse emerging spam trends and take actions. Among key things, telcos will have to display options for registering spam complaints at a prominent and easy-to-find place in their mobile app and web portal. The mobile app should have the facility to register complaints using screenshots, Trai said. The regulator can directly or through an empanelled third-party agency audit the anti-spam mechanism of telcos.
Measures against spammers
Telemarketers could get blacklisted and face disconnection of their telecom resources across all operators for a period of one year on subsequent violations. For the first violation of the regulatory threshold, outgoing services of all telecom resources of the sender will be barred for 15 days. The amendment also restricts senders from using normal 10-digit numbers for telemarketing, ensuring all commercial communications originate from designated headers or specific number series. The 140 series will be for promotional calls and 160 series for transactional and service calls, Trai said. Senders and telemarketers have also been mandated to undergo physical verification, biometric authentication, and unique mobile number linking during registration, with the telecom operators. Further, senders will get notification against every complaint, suspension, disconnection, and blocking of devices. The changes are crucial especially to curb spams from 10-digit numbers, which can be easily reported by users.
Spam call complaints
In November last year, Trai said there were 151,000 complaints against spam calls from unregistered senders in October, a 20% decline from August. This came after Trai had issued directions mandating that any entity found to be making promotional voice calls in violation of regulations would face strict consequences. On the directions of Trai, telcos last year also disconnected 2.75 lakh numbers and blacklisted 50 calling entities. A survey by LocalCircles said 27% mobile subscribers confirmed a reduction in pesky calls. In fact, the Sanchar Saathi Portal of the department of telecommunications has been effective in combating cyber frauds. This includes disconnection of 27.5 million fraudulent mobile connections, and securing over 2.5 million lost or stolen devices. Additionally, 1.2 million WhatsApp accounts linked to cybercrimes have been disengaged, and 1.2 million mule bank accounts have been frozen to prevent financial fraud, according to government data.
