In a major move to tackle the rising wave of spam calls, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued new directives aimed at unregistered telemarketers and senders. Under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018), all Access Service Providers are now required to stop promotional voice calls from unregistered sources using telecom resources such as SIP/PRI.
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New Directives for Access Service Providers
On Tuesday, TRAI, under the Ministry of Communications, issued directions to the Access Service Providers. These include Immediate Call Cessation, Penalties for Violations, DLT Platform Migration, and Reporting Requirements for Access Providers.
Under the new directives, all Access Service Providers are mandated to immediately stop all promotional voice calls from unregistered senders or telemarketers using telecom resources such as SIP/PRI.
Providers must disconnect the telecom resources of any violators for up to two years and blacklist them. Information about the blacklisting will be shared on the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform, requiring other providers to disconnect resources within 24 hours.
During the blacklisting period, no new resources will be allocated to the affected senders. Additionally, unregistered senders and telemarketers (UTMs) are required to migrate to the DLT platform within one month and submit a compliance report within seven days.
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Compliance Reporting Requirements
Access Providers must also report their actions to TRAI on the 1st and 16th of each month. These measures are designed to significantly reduce spam calls and protect consumers from unwanted communication.
The Ministry said this decisive action by TRAI is expected to significantly reduce spam calls and provide relief to consumers.
