The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has urged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to share recommendations to bring pesky callers and spammers under a regulatory mechanism.
The move aims to foster accountability of telemarketers alongside telecom operators and curb pesky callers.
According to an ET report, DoT has sent a reference to the TRAI seeking recommendations on the framework for regulating telemarketers through an authorisation mechanism.
It is to be noted that both DoT and TRAI have been taking collaborative measures to enhance the experience of telecom users.
The DoT launched a citizen-centric platforms Sanchar Saathi to fight cyber fraud, enabling citizens to report suspicious calls and messages.
Read more: TRAI crackdown on spammers: telcos blacklist 50 entities, disconnect 2.75 lakh numbers
Till date more than one crore fraudulent mobile connections disconnected with the help of Sancharsaathi. Further, 2.27 lakh mobile handsets have been blocked for involvement in cybercrime /financial frauds.
TRAI is already undergoing a consultation process on curbing spammers and has received comments from various stakeholders.
The authority has also issued consultation papers on provisions of immediate suspension of services of unregistered telemarketers on receipt of complaints beyond a pre-defined threshold number, and implementation of proactive detection and action on suspected spammers.
It convened a meeting of the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR) on August 27, to discuss measures for protecting consumers from harms of spam and fraud.
In another meeting, held on August 6, TRAI sought proactive action from all the stakeholders. The immediate action sought includes implementing technical solutions for traceability and preventing bulk calling by enterprise customers using 10-digit numbers.
TRAI also hosted meetings with the regulators including RBI, SEBI, and government departments–the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and DoT to address the issue of pesky communications and online financial fraud. It further discussed tightening KYC rules, improving information sharing among stakeholders, and enhancing consent mechanisms.