TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti Leads Meeting to Combat Spam and Fraud in Telecom
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) held a meeting of the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR) at its headquarters in New Delhi. The meeting took place on Wednesday and included members from various regulatory bodies such as IRDAI, PFRDA, RBI, SEBI, MoCA, MeitY, and TRAI. Representatives from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also participated as special guests.
The JCoR serves as a collaborative platform to assess regulatory implications in the digital era and work together on regulatory frameworks. In his address, TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti emphasized the importance of a unified approach to combating spam messages and calls. He urged regulators to discuss and implement measures such as:
- Whitelisting URLs, APKs, OTT links, and callback numbers in SMS
- Transitioning existing telemarketers making promotional calls to the 140 series on the DLT platform
- Requiring the full disclosure of telemarketers involved in the PE-TM chain
The meeting explored potential collaborative strategies to address unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) and fraud through telecom resources. Misuse of headers and templates has led to fraud through malicious links in messages. Mandatory whitelisting of URLs, APKs, OTT links, and callback numbers in content templates and the full disclosure of telemarketers engaged in the PE-TM chain, as per TRAI’s latest directions, need to be enforced.
Many businesses make commercial voice calls using SIP/PRI lines, violating TRAI regulations. These entities should be moved to the designated 140 series for promotional calls, and immediate action should be taken against spammers using PRI/SIP/bulk connections for promotional or pre-recorded calls. The DCA system, established by telecom service providers, is valuable for both messaging and voice calls, allowing messages and calls to reach recipients despite DND preferences. Regulators were encouraged to prompt entities under their jurisdiction to use this system promptly.
The 160 series has been allocated exclusively for service and transactional calls. A pilot study by TRAI and RBI on the technical feasibility of various options was discussed. Emphasis was placed on sharing information across regulatory platforms to effectively combat fraud. By addressing these issues collectively, the JCoR aims to protect consumers from the harms of spam and fraud while ensuring a more secure and efficient telecom ecosystem.
Doubts Revealed
TRAI -: TRAI stands for Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. It is a government body that makes rules and regulations for the telecom industry in India.
Chairman -: A Chairman is the leader or head of a committee or organization. In this case, Anil Kumar Lahoti is the head of TRAI.
Spam -: Spam refers to unwanted or junk messages and calls that people receive on their phones. These can be annoying and sometimes harmful.
Fraud -: Fraud is when someone tries to trick you to steal your money or personal information. In telecom, this can happen through fake calls or messages.
Telecom -: Telecom is short for telecommunications, which means communication over a distance by phone, internet, or other means.
IRDAI -: IRDAI stands for Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. It regulates the insurance industry in India.
PFRDA -: PFRDA stands for Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. It oversees pension funds in India.
RBI -: RBI stands for Reserve Bank of India. It is the central bank of India that controls the money supply and interest rates.
SEBI -: SEBI stands for Securities and Exchange Board of India. It regulates the stock market and protects investors.
Whitelisting URLs -: Whitelisting URLs means allowing only certain website addresses to be used, which helps in blocking harmful or fake websites.
Telemarketer disclosures -: Telemarketer disclosures are rules that require telemarketers to provide clear information about who they are and why they are calling, to prevent fraud.
New Delhi -: New Delhi is the capital city of India where many important government meetings and events take place.