Latest news with #TelecomCommercialCommunicationsCustomerPreferenceRegulations
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Consumer interest at the forefront of TRAI's amended TCCCPR
In a bid to further safeguard consumers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI ) has announced significant changes to the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR) through the Second Amendment Regulations, 2025. The reforms aim to strengthen consumer protection against Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC), streamline the complaint redressal mechanism, and plug regulatory gaps that have allowed telemarketing misuse in the past. Key Focus: Empowering Consumers in a Digital-First Era At the core of these amendments lies enhanced consumer autonomy. A landmark shift is the removal of mandatory preference registration for filing spam complaints. Now, consumers can report UCC against a very simple process, where they only provide some basic details such as their number, sender's number, date of receipt, and a short description of the message. It's worth noting that the complaint window has also been extended from 3 to 7 days, this will provide more time to consumers for acting. Access providers (APs) must now act within 5 days, down from 30, making the redressal process significantly more responsive. Repeat violations by senders can result in blacklisting, telecom service disconnection for up to a year, and even device blocking—a major deterrent to habitual spammers. Moreover, consumers no longer need to navigate a separate preference management system. All promotional communications must now include a clear opt-out mechanism, ensuring control lies with the recipient at every stage. New Safeguards Around Consent Further ensuring the power remains with the consumer, the amendments introduce consent expiry timelines, addressing the misuse of outdated permissions. Consent for one-time transactions lapses in 7 days, and service-related communications are valid only during the contract period. Post opt-out, a cooling period of 90 days prevents senders from soliciting renewed consent, although consumers can voluntarily opt-in again. Furthermore, disclosures around automated tools like auto-diallers and robocalls are now mandatory, ensuring transparency. Message headers are now standardised with suffixes like '-P' for promotional, '-S' for service, '-T' for transactional, and '-G' for government, giving consumers clear visibility on the nature of incoming communications. Strengthening the Commercial Communications Ecosystem To deter fraudulent actors and strengthen regulatory oversight, TRAI has also focused on ecosystem-level interventions. Access providers are now obligated to monitor suspicious patterns using tools like: Pattern analysis based on call volumes and ratiosHoneypot numbers to detect emerging UCC trendsBiometric authentication and physical verification of telemarketers The updated norms restrict the use of regular 10-digit numbers for commercial messages. Instead, communications must come from designated series—140-series for promotional calls and a new 1600-series for transactional and service calls—enabling consumers to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent messages more easily. To enhance traceability, intermediary layers between Principal Entities and telemarketers have been restricted, ensuring a clear accountability trail. All senders must now self-certify registration data annually, and any unused or fraudulent headers are subject to immediate deletion and action. Holding Access Providers Accountable Moving to the other side of the spectrum, the repercussions are now severe for APs and scammers. Access Providers now play a frontline role in enforcement. Penalties for non-compliance are stringent, with fines of: ₹2 lakh for a first violation₹5 lakh for a second₹10 lakh for further breaches APs are also empowered to collect security deposits from telemarketers, which are forfeited upon violations, further tightening compliance. Importantly, penalties apply not just to spam-senders, but also to misreporting of complaints, invalid closures, and non-compliance with header and template registration norms by APs. Challenges in Implementation Despite the comprehensive nature of the amendments, the implementation is currently faced with hurdles: Digital Literacy: Many consumers may still be unaware of their rights or lack the digital literacy to navigate complaint platforms efficiently. Inter-Operator Coordination: Blacklisting and service disconnections require seamless cooperation between multiple access providers and regulators. Consent Platform Onboarding: Bringing all senders—especially in the government and financial sectors—onto the digital consent acquisition system will demand extensive alignment. AI-based Spam Evasion: Spammers increasingly use AI-driven tactics to evade detection. While pattern recognition systems and honeypots offer strong defence, AI-based detection and filtering systems will need to evolve in parallel. A joint committee of sectoral regulators is already working on implementation strategies for the 1600-series, and on enhancing the digital consent acquisition framework. Their efforts also include blocking fraudulent IMEIs, eliminating unused headers, and detecting scam behaviour early on. The Road Ahead TRAI's 2025 amendments are a progressive evolution of its 2018 regulatory framework. By simplifying complaint procedures, enhancing transparency, enforcing stricter penalties, and holding telecom players accountable, the amendments place consumer rights at the centre of India's communications ecosystem. However, the efficacy of these reforms will ultimately depend on how efficiently the ecosystem adapts—from awareness-building campaigns and real-time monitoring, to embracing AI-powered enforcement that can evolve as quickly as the spam tactics it seeks to counter. As the battle against UCC continues, TRAI's amended TCCCPR serve as a timely and robust reset, reminding stakeholders that responsible communication and consumer consent must remain non-negotiable pillars of India's digital future. (DISCLAIMER: Views expressed are the author's personal.)
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Spammers call the shots as users stay silent
Less than 25% mobile phone users have registered their preference regarding commercial communications, leaving the rest completely open to receive such communications without any checks, a senior official the nearly 1.15 billion mobile consumers in the country, just 280 million have registered their preference, which means telemarketers are free to send all kinds of commercial communications to the remaining 870 million mobile users."It is a problem that while everyone complains about spam, only a minuscule percentage of people have shared their preferences regarding commercial communications, leaving the rest prone to spam," a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) official told ET. A mobile consumer has to share his/her preference to manage or completely opt out from receiving commercial communications. In the absence of it, all sorts of commercial communication, commonly called spam, can be sent to users. "The rules state that unless a consumer opts out, it is taken as a yes for receiving commercial communications," the official said. Trai's latest do not disturb (DND) app has made it easy to report spam and choose preferences. The regulator wants all the mobile consumers to report their preference, so that the menace of spam can be controlled, and accountability can be fixed. "While selecting a preference, a user can choose which kind of commercial communication he or she wants to receive, or there can be a blanket no to all such communications," the official cited above said. In case, despite choosing to not receive any commercial communications, a user gets calls or messages, the same can be reported and action is taken against the telemarketers. The regulator had in February came out with updated rules to check spam, tightening measures for telecom operators . The rules are part of the amended Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations. It prescribed financial penalties (FDs) ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh for repeated violations in cases where telecom operators misreport counts of such calls and messages. Trai also mandated telcos to analyse calls and SMS patterns based on parameters such as unusually high call volumes, short call durations, frequent SIM card changes, and low incoming-to-outgoing call ratios for flagging spammers in real time. The telcos, however, have slammed the regulations, stating that over-the-top (OTT) players and telemarketers, which are the main stakeholders in sending spam, have been left out from the ambit of the regulations. In India, 1.5-1.7 billion commercial messages are sent every day, taking the total to about 55 billion every month, according to industry data. The regulator has been issuing various directives to telcos to curb spam and phishing.
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Spammers call the shots as users stay silent
Less than 25% mobile phone users have registered their preference regarding commercial communications , leaving the rest completely open to receive such communications without any checks, a senior official said. Of the nearly 1.15 billion mobile consumers in the country, just 280 million have registered their preference, which means telemarketers are free to send all kinds of commercial communications to the remaining 870 million mobile users. "It is a problem that while everyone complains about spam, only a minuscule percentage of people have shared their preferences regarding commercial communications, leaving the rest prone to spam," a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) official told ET. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Kulkas yang belum Terjual dengan Harga Termurah (Lihat harga) Cari Sekarang Undo A mobile consumer has to share his/her preference to manage or completely opt out from receiving commercial communications. In the absence of it, all sorts of commercial communication, commonly called spam, can be sent to users. "The rules state that unless a consumer opts out, it is taken as a yes for receiving commercial communications," the official said. Live Events Trai's latest do not disturb (DND) app has made it easy to report spam and choose preferences. The regulator wants all the mobile consumers to report their preference, so that the menace of spam can be controlled, and accountability can be fixed. "While selecting a preference, a user can choose which kind of commercial communication he or she wants to receive, or there can be a blanket no to all such communications," the official cited above said. In case, despite choosing to not receive any commercial communications, a user gets calls or messages, the same can be reported and action is taken against the telemarketers. The regulator had in February came out with updated rules to check spam, tightening measures for telecom operators. The rules are part of the amended Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations. It prescribed financial penalties (FDs) ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh for repeated violations in cases where telecom operators misreport counts of such calls and messages. Trai also mandated telcos to analyse calls and SMS patterns based on parameters such as unusually high call volumes, short call durations, frequent SIM card changes, and low incoming-to-outgoing call ratios for flagging spammers in real time. The telcos, however, have slammed the regulations, stating that over-the-top (OTT) players and telemarketers, which are the main stakeholders in sending spam, have been left out from the ambit of the regulations. In India, 1.5-1.7 billion commercial messages are sent every day, taking the total to about 55 billion every month, according to industry data. The regulator has been issuing various directives to telcos to curb spam and phishing.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
MeitY to lead efforts to curb spam calls from OTT platform
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will take the lead to engage with stakeholders to tackle spam and scam calls from over-the-top (OTT) and rich communication services (RCS) platforms, a joint committee of regulators (JCoR) meeting convened by The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) decided on platforms, which operate over the internet, have become new avenues for spammers and fraudsters to reach the Trai has taken steps to tackle unsolicited communications through traditional means, the regulator has maintained that its regulatory framework does not extend to OTT services. The Trai has made fresh amendments to the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, implementing simplified spam reporting, standardised message headers, enhanced compliance and stricter action.
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
MeitY to lead efforts to curb spam calls from OTT platform
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will spearhead a campaign. This campaign aims to combat spam and scam calls. These calls originate from over-the-top and rich communication services platforms. This decision emerged from a joint committee meeting. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India convened this meeting. The goal is to protect consumers from fraud. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ( MeitY ) will take the lead to engage with stakeholders to tackle spam and scam calls from over-the-top (OTT) and rich communication services (RCS) platforms, a joint committee of regulators (JCoR) meeting convened by The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) decided on platforms, which operate over the internet, have become new avenues for spammers and fraudsters to reach the Trai has taken steps to tackle unsolicited communications through traditional means, the regulator has maintained that its regulatory framework does not extend to OTT Trai has made fresh amendments to the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, implementing simplified spam reporting, standardised message headers, enhanced compliance and stricter action.
