NEW DELHI: The private telecom service providers are at odds with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) over its new spam rules, citing that the regulations were issued without addressing all relevant issues.
The TRAI last week introduced new rules under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018, aimed at curbing Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC), also known as spam calls and messages.
The new rules mandate that consumers can now report spam within 7 days of receiving it, up from the earlier 3-day limit. Additionally, telcos must take action against unregistered senders within 5 days, down from the earlier 30-day limit. In case of failure to implement these regulations, telcos such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, will be penalised up to `10 lakh per instance.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents all three private telcos, said a more comprehensive approach is required to tackle the issue effectively. The association emphasised that in the current digital landscape, both over-the-top (OTT) communication providers and telemarketers (TMs) have become major stakeholders in messaging.
Therefore, it is critical to establish a regulatory framework to ensure accountability from all stakeholders in the ecosystem, including OTT platforms and telemarketers/principal entities.
“We had submitted to TRAI that the only feasible and optimal approach to handling UCC can be by bringing the Telemarketers under the licensing regime,” said S P Kochhar, Director General of COAI.
TRAI has termed these regulations easier for subscribers, as they can report spam calls and messages from unregistered senders.