TRAI new rules to curb spam rules: Telecom companies demand fair penalties
The Telecom providers of the country has opposed TRAI's recently introduced strict regulations to curb spam calls and messages.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) introduced new rules and regulations to curb spam messages and calls in the country. The telecom service providers are ordered to follow these rules. However, it seems the rules have bring forth opposition from the telecom companies.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents the top telecom providers, has raised concerns about the penalties imposed on companies instead of spammers.
Telecom companies protest TRAI’s new penalty rules
To tackle the issue of the increasing spam calls and message, TRAI imposed the new regulations last month. According to the new rules, the telecom companies will have to pay fines/penalities of they fail to manage the spam call or could not block them. This has raised concern among the telecom companies. COAI has stated that penalizing companies is not an effective solution. The telecom companies have opsed the new rules and demanded TRAI to look for a more effective way to solve the spam issue at the root.
According to COAI, it would be more effective if the penalities is imposed on the spammers who are sending the unwanted messages rather than telecom companies. They aid that TRAI should address the key concerns.
COAI’s Director General expressed disappointment over TRAI’s failure to address key concerns before enforcing the new rules.
Under TRAI’s regulations, telecom companies are now required to analyze call and SMS patterns based on factors such as a high number of calls, short call durations, and an unusual ratio of outgoing to incoming calls. This move aims to help identify spammers more effectively.
Fines of up to Rs 10 lakh for telecom companies
According to the amended Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), the telecom providers are prone to a graded penalty system which makes them pay a certain amount of fine as per the degree of violation. Check the fines below:
- Rs 2 lakh fine for the first violation
- Rs 5 lakh fine for the second violation
- Rs 10 lakh fine for each subsequent violation
Despite these penalties, COAI has raised concerns that social media platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram have been excluded from TRAI’s framework, even though they are major sources of spam messages and calls.
Telecom companies are now urging a more balanced and inclusive policy to fight the growing spam problem effectively.]
