ITV

Tag: Telemarketers

  • TRAI puts a ‘stop’ to unsolicited calls and messages

    TRAI puts a ‘stop’ to unsolicited calls and messages

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is taking a firm stance on unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) with its amended Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018. In a bid to protect consumers from spam calls and messages, TRAI has introduced a series of tightened regulations aimed at strengthening consumer privacy and improving transparency in the world of telecom communications.

    Since the introduction of the TCCCPR in 2018, the framework has already made headway in fighting spam with its blockchain-based regulatory system. However, with spammers evolving their tactics and adopting new methods, TRAI’s latest regulatory tweaks aim to close loopholes, enhance consumer complaint processes, and strengthen enforcement mechanisms. The newly-amended regulations seek to bolster the fight against spam, ensure quicker action on complaints, and enforce higher accountability for telemarketers.

    The latest amendments by TRAI introduce a streamlined complaint process, allowing consumers to file complaints against spam calls and messages without the need to register their preferences in advance. Additionally, the time window for lodging complaints has been extended from three days to seven days, making it more convenient for users. To ensure faster action, telecom providers must now resolve complaints within five days, a significant reduction from the previous 30-day timeframe. Moreover, the threshold for action has been lowered, requiring just five complaints in 10 days instead of the earlier 10 complaints in seven days, making it easier to clamp down on repeat offenders.

    Strengthening consumer control, telecom operators will now be required to provide a mandatory opt-out option for promotional messages, ensuring customers have a hassle-free way to reject unwanted communications. Additionally, financial disincentives have been introduced for telecom providers found misreporting UCC instances, with escalating penalties for repeat violations, reinforcing strict accountability within the industry.  

    Moreover, TRAI has implemented stringent rules to curb the misuse of telecom resources for telemarketing. This includes banning normal 10-digit numbers for promotional messages and encouraging telemarketers to use dedicated number series (such as the 1600 series for transactional messages). Violators of these regulations now face severe penalties, including suspension of telecom services for up to a year for repeat offenders.

    Additionally, physical verification and biometric authentication for telemarketers and senders will further ensure accountability and traceability in the industry. Telecom providers are also required to implement honeypots to help identify spam calls early, thus preventing widespread misuse.

    As digital communications continue to play an essential role in business and personal interactions, these new measures will go a long way in ensuring a cleaner, safer telecom environment. TRAI’s latest reforms aim to create a balance between consumer protection and the need for legitimate commercial communication, marking a new chapter in India’s telecom regulatory landscape.

  • Over a million telephones of telemarketers disconnected till January: Deora

    Over a million telephones of telemarketers disconnected till January: Deora

    NEW DELHI: While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has so far received Rs 1.52 crore as penalty from registered telemarketers, the government has admitted that Unsolicited Commercial Communications (SMSs or calls) from persons not registered as telemarketers has not ceased.

     

    Such individuals deliberately masquerade themselves as “normal subscribers” even though their primary purpose for obtaining telecom resources is for telemarketing activities, according to Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Milind Deora. However, he felt TRAI’s regulatory interventions have largely tempered the menace of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC).  

     

    A total of 1.4 million telephones of unregistered telemarketers have been disconnected till 31 January and 1,80,000 Unregistered Telemarketers were blacklisted for two years till 31 January.

    With the implementation of these measures, the number of complaints regarding receipt of UCC from unregistered telemarketers has come down from around 45,000 per month in the month of August 2012 to around 12,000 per month in January 2014. 

     

    The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation 2010 has laid down a revised framework for UCC. These regulations came into force with effect from 27 September 2011. The National Do Not Call Registry (NDNC) has been renamed National Customer Preference Register (NCPR). The Telemarketers after registration from TRAI get permission to access the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR). 

     

    TRAI has been continuously reviewing this regulation and accordingly issued fourteen amendments to the regulation and a number of directions to make the regulatory framework more effective and stringent. The regulation provides for imposition of penalty against registered telemarketers, to be recovered from the security deposit with the service provider.

     

    The regulator has been taking various steps to rein in unregistered telemarketers from sending unsolicited commercial communications to customers registered in the National Customer Preference Register.

    The recent initiatives taken by TRAI under this regulation include preventing unregistered telemarketers from misusing concessional SMS packs or tariff plans for sending bulk promotional SMSs, a price restraint has been placed on sending of more than one hundred SMS per day per SIM. The subscriber is free to send SMSs beyond this number, however, all such SMSs sent beyond one hundred SMS per day per SIM shall be charged at a rate not lower than 50 ‘paise’ per SMS.

    To restrict unregistered telemarketers from sending bulk promotional SMSs using software applications, Access Providers have been mandated to put in place a solution, which will ensure that no commercial SMSs are sent having same or similar characters or strings or variants from any source or number. The solution will ensure that no more than 200 SMSs with such similar ‘signature’ are sent in an hour.

    For increasing consumer awareness and to caution against misuse, Access Providers have been mandated to send SMS to all customers on periodic basis, advising them not to send any commercial communications and informing them about the consequences of misuse.

    The unregistered telemarketer’s number will be disconnected and his name and address will be blacklisted for a period of two years. No telecom resources shall be provided to such subscribers for two years.

  • Telemarketers penalised by TRAI for various violations

    Telemarketers penalised by TRAI for various violations

    NEW DELHI: Fifteen telemarketers have been blacklisted while another 245 have been issued notices by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for unwanted calls and text messages.

    The regulator has also deducted Rs 1.36 crore security deposit for violations of various norms. TRAI, which had implemented Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations from 27 September 2011, had laid down that telemarketers have to deposit some amount to their service provider as security deposit.

    The 15 telemarketers have been blacklisted from 27 September 2011 till 25 June this year, and the deduction of security deposit is for violations from 27 September 2011 to 30 July 2013.
    There is a provision of deduction from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh in case of violation by telemarketers under the regulations. Telemarketers are required to register with TRAI in order to send commercial communications to telecom consumers.

    Subscribers who have registered with the National Customer Preference Registry, earlier known as ‘Do Not Call Registry’ are not supposed to receive commercial communications.

    A different set of numbers starting with ’70’ were issued to telemarketers to help unregistered subscribers identify commercial calls and decide whether to accept or reject them. But TRAI has come across instances when the commercial communication was not sent by the registered telemarketers.