Rogue robocallers behind Trai's bid to dial up rules against spam

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai's) latest push to review its existing spam regulations and expand the definition of "commercial communications" is driven by an urgent need to tighten controls on autodialers or robocallers, and bulk messaging, according to official sources.

- SUBHAYAN CHAKRABORTY

This move, they said, comes in response to a surge in complaints against unregistered telemarketers (UTMs), which soared to 750,000 in just the first half of 2024, underscoring the necessity for a comprehensive overhaul of the government's anti-spam measures.

Last week, Trai released a consultation paper aimed at revisiting the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018), the government's legal framework against spam. Currently, spam is classified as "unsolicited commercial communication (UCC)", typically disseminated by UTMs.

"While the existing regulations have been effective in reducing complaints against registered telemarketers, an overhaul is essential to eliminate spam originating from UTMs," a Trai official stated.