New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has imposed financial penalties exceeding Rs 150 crore on telecom operators for failing to effectively tackle spam calls and messages. The penalty, covering three years starting from 2020, has been contested by the telecom companies.
According to Trai, the fines were levied for improper handling of customer complaints and for not taking timely action against telecom resources used by spammers, as mandated under existing regulations.
The rules allow the regulator to impose penalties of up to Rs 50 lakh per month per licensed service area on operators for non-compliance.
Trai clarified that the penalties are not imposed merely because spam originates on an operator’s network, but due to lapses in action against spammers once complaints are received. Audits conducted by the regulator revealed several instances of incorrect closure of customer complaints.
In the past year, Trai has disconnected over 21 lakh spam-related connections and blacklisted more than one lakh entities. In September 2024 alone, around 18.8 lakh connections were disconnected and over 1,150 entities were blacklisted following directions issued in August.
The regulator highlighted that consumer complaints remain the primary trigger for action, as most spam now originates from unregistered users operating through regular 10-digit mobile numbers.
To make reporting easier, Trai has introduced a DND app that allows users to file complaints in a few steps and extended the complaint window from three to seven days.
Trai has also tightened enforcement norms, reducing the threshold to five complaints within 10 days to initiate action against a sender.
Additionally, entities in banking, financial services, insurance and government sectors have been directed to use the 1,600 series numbers for official calls to help consumers distinguish genuine communications from spam.
Discussion about this post