Latest news with #Trai
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Trai says telcos start '1600' number series rollout for BFSI sector
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai ) said that the incumbent telecom carriers have been implementing a '1600' series as a number prefix in numbers for consumers to identify calls originating from genuine banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies. 'Currently, we are focusing on the implementation of the 1600 series. This series has been allotted for transaction and service calls for the banking, financial and insurance (BFSI) sector,' Anil Kumar Lahoti , Chairman, Trai, told ETTelecom. Further, the top official said that the 1600 series initiative in the BFSI sector will 'give a lot of credibility' to voice calls and consumers can identify it as a transactional service, and not meant for a promotional purpose. The move comes following the sector watchdog holding multiple discussions with stakeholders, including incumbent telecom service providers. 'The work is in progress, so the number series has been given to the service providers and now the principal entities are taking the numbers from them. We have also requested the respective sectoral regulators to advise the entities regulated by them for early adoption of this system,' Lahoti said. Some of the BFSI entities, such as the State Bank of India (SBI) Card, according to the regulator, have already started the rollout of the new number series. Lahoti further said that the sector watchdog eventually aims to mandate all service and transaction calls routed through the new series, including those coming from large commercial entities. 'So, we have started from the BFSI sector, it will take some time to complete it, then we will take up other sectors also,' he added. READ MORE | Telcos voice concern over Trai's new spam norms In 2022, Trai formed a Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR) that includes representatives from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The JCoR agreed to mandate the BFSI sector with necessary directions to prevent misuse of headers and content templates and to curb unauthorised calls using telecom resources under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018). In April this year, the joint committee discussed the modalities for the implementation of 1600 series numbers allocated to transactional and service voice calls by the entities belonging to the government and financial sector. The deliberations followed the onboarding of senders of commercial communication on the Digital Consent Acquisition (DCA) platform.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Telcos start '1600' number series rollout for BFSI sector: Trai's AK Lahoti
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai ) said that the incumbent telecom carriers have been implementing a '1600' series as a number prefix in numbers for consumers to identify calls originating from genuine banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies. 'Currently, we are focusing on the implementation of the 1600 series. This series has been allotted for transaction and service calls for the banking, financial and insurance (BFSI) sector,' Anil Kumar Lahoti , Chairman, Trai, told ETTelecom. Further, the top official said that the 1600 series initiative in the BFSI sector will 'give a lot of credibility' to voice calls and consumers can identify it as a transactional service, and not meant for a promotional purpose. The move comes following the sector watchdog holding multiple discussions with stakeholders, including incumbent telecom service providers. 'The work is in progress, so the number series has been given to the service providers and now the principal entities are taking the numbers from them. We have also requested the respective sectoral regulators to advise the entities regulated by them for early adoption of this system,' Lahoti said. Some of the BFSI entities, such as the State Bank of India (SBI) Card, according to the regulator, have already started the rollout of the new number series. Lahoti further said that the sector watchdog eventually aims to mandate all service and transaction calls routed through the new series, including those coming from large commercial entities. 'So, we have started from the BFSI sector, it will take some time to complete it, then we will take up other sectors also,' he added. READ MORE | Telcos voice concern over Trai's new spam norms In 2022, Trai formed a Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR) that includes representatives from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The JCoR agreed to mandate the BFSI sector with necessary directions to prevent misuse of headers and content templates and to curb unauthorised calls using telecom resources under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018). In April this year, the joint committee discussed the modalities for the implementation of 1600 series numbers allocated to transactional and service voice calls by the entities belonging to the government and financial sector. The deliberations followed the onboarding of senders of commercial communication on the Digital Consent Acquisition (DCA) platform.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Trai seeks views on backhaul spectrum pricing in relief push for telcos, Vodafone Idea could benefit most
The telecom regulator has sought stakeholder comments to review the pricing methodology, future assignment and related terms and conditions of backhaul airwaves, a move which may reduce the financial burden of telecom operators , especially debt-ridden Vodafone Idea . The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai ) on Wednesday sought views on microwave spectrum across several key bands — 6 GHz (lower), 7 GHz, 13 GHz, 15 GHz, 18 GHz, 21 GHz, E-Band (71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz) and V-Band (57-64/66 GHz). The regulator is also looking to address the potential identification of 7GHz and 15 GHz bands for future mobile services usage. The recent decision by the government to delicense the lower frequencies in the 6GHz band has raised questions about protecting existing users in that band. Backhaul spectrum is primarily used to connect the towers, and is different from access spectrum, which the telcos buy in auction. Live Events ET was the first to report, on May 27, that the telecom regulator was considering a consultation paper on overhauling the pricing and allocation methodology of backhaul bandwidth. Further issues put forth by Trai include earmarking spectrum for fixed wireless access and non-commercial captive users, and prescribing minimum link lengths, among others. The need for fresh consultation regarding the assignment of microwave spectrum stems from significant changes in the legal framework where, under the new Telecommunications Act, 2023, backhaul waves are to be allocated administratively. For traditional microwave bands (6-21 GHz) and newer E-band and V-band usage, the regulator has sought comments on demand levels and suitable commercial services. Stakeholders have been asked to weigh in on the assignment method and determine how much spectrum should be earmarked for it. The consultation paper, released on Wednesday, has more than 50 questions, including the pricing of high-bandwidth E-band and V-band for the first time for backhaul use. The regulator also sought inputs on the feasibility of allowing low-power indoor and outdoor usage of V-band on a licence-exempt basis, parallel to licensed use. The latest stakeholder consultation from Trai will also tackle how to levy the spectrum charges and valuation for commercial backhaul in traditional bands. Currently, telcos pay 0.15% to 3.95% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), or between Rs 4,500 and 5,550 crore annually, as spectrum charges for using backhaul carriers. The higher the number of carriers used, the more the fees paid. Experts said reviewing the pricing methodology could ease the financial burden on telecom operators, especially debt-laden Vodafone Idea which has the largest number of backhaul carriers. The regulator is also consulting on the necessity and criteria for spectrum caps on carriers, and whether existing carriers can be retained under the new policy. It has fixed June 25 as the deadline for comments and July 9 for counter-comments. The telcos want a fixed cost for backhaul spectrum and the price to be minimal as they have been paying market-determined rates for access airwaves. Traditionally, backhaul carriers had been given administratively to telcos, but the practice was stopped after the 2012 Supreme Court verdict. After that, the Department of Telecommunications started allocating backhaul carriers provisionally. But with the Telecommunications Act being implemented now, there is clarity and has led to this fresh consultation on the issue.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Trai issues consultation paper on microwave spectrum across bands
In a first, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday released a consultation paper seeking to assess the demand for, and the scope of service for microwave spectrum across eight spectrum bands. Aiming to create guidelines for microwave spectrum in the 6 GHz, 7 GHz, 13 GHz, 15 GHz, 18 GHz and 21 GHz bands, along with V-band and E-band, the paper seeks industry views on how to assign spectrum in various microwave bands for commercial backhaul, along with the terms and conditions, including pricing, spectrum caps, and carrier aggregation. Called the 'lifeblood of today's cellular mobile networks', microwave spectrum is used for providing both last mile 'access' to consumer devices, as well as backhaul links in places where laying the optical fiber cables is difficult or economically unviable. The microwave spectrum ranging from 400 MHz to 4 GHz was used for providing cellular mobile radio access, while the one ranging from 6 GHz to 24 GHz was used for providing backhaul. However, the recent introduction of 5G technology has led to the need for wider frequency channels and now frequencies above 24 GHz are also used for both cellular mobile radio access and backhaul. DoT also wants TRAI to examine whether the 7 GHz and 15 GHz bands, currently used for backhaul, should be re-evaluated for mobile telephony now or after the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) takes a call on them in it has asked which commercial telecom services should the spectrum in traditional microwave backhaul bands be assigned for radio backhaul purposes. Trai has also been asked to examine how spectrum in non-mobile telephony bands could be used for last-mile connectivity through fixed wireless access, and for captive backhaul services. The feasibility of permitting low-power indoor device-to-device communication in the V-band on a licence-exempt basis is also under review. Stakeholders will have to submit their inputs by June 25, with counter-comments accepted until July 9.
India.com
5 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Sunil Mittal's Airtel's BIG call to Mukesh Ambani's Jio, Vodafone Idea, BSNL to fight with…, may save Rs 110000000000 lost in…
Airtel has notified the government and telecom regulator TRAI about its proposal to collaborate with Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea on a joint initiative to combat the increasing telecom fraud and scams. The company has called for a united industry effort to face the rising number of malicious scams that target vulnerable individuals. In separate letters to the telecom operators, Airtel highlighted data that shows India registered over 1.7 million cybercrime complaints in the first nine months of 2024 which resulted in financial losses of around Rs 11,000 crore. The call for action comes at a time when cybercriminals are using increasingly sophisticated tactics like phishing links, fake loan offers, and fraudulent payment pages, leading to a surge in digital fraud and identity theft incidents. Airtel has upped the ante on the war on digital spams and scams, and the last few weeks have seen the Sunil Mittal-led telco rolling out fraud detection solution to block rogue sites across communication OTT apps, and platforms, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram and others. 'However, given the recent alarming rise in phishing attempts and malicious URL-based scams targeting unsuspecting individuals, it became evident that more coordinated industry action was needed. These sophisticated fraud schemes often exploit the gaps in coordination between service providers,' Airtel wrote in letters to Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal and Trai Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti. Updating the telecom department and Trai on its efforts, Airtel said that to combat 'this growing threat' of telecom frauds, spams and scams and in the spirit of unified industry action, it has once again reached out to TSPs with a proposal to launch a Joint Telecom Fraud Initiative on May 14, 2025. 'This initiative would bring together all TSPs to collaboratively detect, prevent, and mitigate telecom fraud and scams across our networks through real-time fraud intelligence sharing and cross-network coordination,' Airtel said in the letters. Airtel recalled that in October of 2024, it had written to all Telecom Service providers (TSPs) with a proposal to adopt a collaborative approach to address the growing issue of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC). The proposal emphasised the mutual sharing of details of corporate connections used for commercial calling in a standardised format to enable proactive spam monitoring and mitigate any potential misuse. 'We also proposed the establishment of a centralised data-sharing platform akin to the existing Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) system to enhance our collective ability to combat UCC without disrupting legitimate enterprise services,' Airtel said. Meanwhile, Airtel Vice Chairman and MD Gopal Vittal will soon reach out to customers on the issue of financial frauds and scams that have 'become a regular threat for Indians'. Sources said the proposed mailer outreach by the top executive to customers will outline the various initiatives by Airtel, including an AI-powered solution launched last year to identify and mark suspicious spam calls and SMSes, and will also highlight new fraud detection solutions that will check for suspicious links across all Over the Top (OTT) apps and platforms, including social media apps, chat apps and messaging services and block it in real-time. Vittal will caution customers that over the last year, scam attempts have evolved into something much more organised and dangerous. 'Fraudsters today are targeting people not just through calls and texts but also through chats, emails, social media apps and other platforms,' he said. Fraudsters send messages that sound urgent or worrying, pretending to be from a bank, electricity provider, or even a delivery company, just to get users to click on a link. 'And these links look absolutely genuine, almost impossible to tell apart from the real ones. Once you click, they extract your personal and financial information and use it to scam you. We are seeing an alarming surge in such threats in the last few days,' he added. Talking about the new solution, Vittal assures customers that whenever they are on the Airtel mobile network or connected to Airtel Wi-Fi, this added layer of protection will be active by default. (With Inputs PTI)
