13 August 2024

On August 13, 2024, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued directives to tackle the problem of spam calls. All Access Service Providers are now required to immediately stop promotional voice calls from unregistered senders or telemarketers (UTMs) using telecom resources such as SIP/PRI. If these unregistered entities misuse their telecom resources, their services can be disconnected by the Originating Access Provider (OAP) for up to two years, and they will be blacklisted for the same period. 

The blacklisting information must be shared with all Access Providers via the DLT platform within 24 hours, who must then disconnect the sender’s telecom resources within the next 24 hours and refrain from allocating new resources during the blacklisting period. Additionally, unregistered senders must transition to the DLT platform within one month and submit a compliance report within seven days thereafter. Access Providers are also required to provide regular updates on their actions on the 1st and 16th of each month. This initiative aims to significantly reduce spam calls and improve consumer protection.