New Delhi, Aug 28 (Representative) Concerned over the rising menace of unsolicited calls and communications, Telecom Regulator TRAI on Wednesday issued a Consultation Paper seeking public view on “Review of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018)” to plug the loopholes and strengthen the regulation to stop harassment of public. TRAI is seeking input on areas to strengthen the regulations, including stricter provisions against the Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs) who harass the public through spam calls, improved complaint redressal mechanisms, more effective UCC detection systems, stronger financial disincentives for violation of regulatory provisions, and revised regulations for senders and telemarketers.The paper also explores the possibility of differential tariffs for voice calls and SMS to discourage UCC, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in the paper. The TCCCPR-2018 was implemented in February, 2019 to address the issue of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC). These regulations aim to protect consumers from unwanted promotional calls and messages, while allowing businesses to send targeted communications to customers who have consented for or set preferences to receive them.During implementation of the regulatory frameworks, certain issues have been observed. This Consultation Paper aims to bring forward issues observed during implementation, and which need immediate attention.
The provisions of regulations related to these issues may need amendment. TRAI observed that despite the punitive actions, the unsolicited calls from 10-digits mobile numbers continue to irritate and harass customers. Such individuals deliberately masquerade themselves as “normal subscribers” even though their primary purpose for obtaining telecom resources is for telemarketing activities. In view of the above, certain provisions of TCCCPR 2018 require reexamination as discussed in the Consultation Paper. For example in the “Review of Definitions” of the TCCCPR 2018, various types of Commercial Communications have been defined including a) Transactional Message/Call –Triggered by the Sender due to a transaction performed by its customer, in such cases One Time Password or (OTP) is sent by a bank; b) Service Message/Call – Sent by the Senders based on its existing business relationship with the recipient; and C) Promotional Message/Calls- Message/calls containing promotional material or advertisement of a product or service. Besides definition of Commercial Communications, the paper also elaborated on — Provisions related to the Complaint Redressal; UCC Detect System and action thereof; Provisions related to Financial Disincentives; Provisions related to Senders and Telemarketers; Analysis of high number of voice calls and SMS. The TRAI has asked all stakeholders to submit their written comments by September 25, 2024.