New Delhi: The government announced on Tuesday that to control spam calls and messages, telecom service providers have barred over 50 companies and disconnected more than 2.75 lakh mobile phones and telecom resources.
The action came after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued strict guidelines to all access providers last month to prohibit promotional voice promptly calls from unregistered senders or telemarketers.
“Access Providers have taken stern measures against misuse of telecom resources for spamming and blacklisted over 50 entities and disconnected more than 2.75 lakh SIP DID/Mobile Numbers/Telecom resources,” said the TRAI.
The telecom regulator added that these steps are expected to significantly reduce spam calls and provide relief to consumers.
TRAI urged all stakeholders to comply with the directives and contribute to a cleaner, more efficient telecom ecosystem.
“Any unregistered telemarketer found to be misusing these resources will face severe consequences, including disconnection of all telecom resources for up to two years and blacklisting,” it noted.
The TRAI saw a considerable increase in spam calls between January and June, with more than 7.9 lakh complaints received against unregistered telemarketers (UTMs).
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Meanwhile, the regulator has given access service providers a one-month extension to comply with its directive on whitelisting URLs, APKs, and OTT connections. The TRAI had already requested the country’s major telecom carriers to regulate such texts by Sep 1.
The move is intended to reduce the number of spam and phishing efforts by scammers who try to fool individuals using SMS services. The telecom regulator has now asked all access providers to present the authority with an updated status on action taken within 15 days and a compliance report within 30 days of the instruction being issued.
The TRAI has also implemented punitive actions for noncompliance. Content templates recorded in the incorrect category will be banned, and subsequent offences will result in a one-month suspension of the sender’s services.
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–IANS
