Less than 25% mobile phone users have registered their preference regarding commercial communications, leaving the rest completely open to receive such communications without any checks, a senior official said.
Of the nearly 1.15 billion mobile consumers in the country, just 280 million have registered their preference, which means telemarketers are free to send all kinds of commercial communications to the remaining 870 million mobile users.
"It is a problem that while everyone complains about spam, only a minuscule percentage of people have shared their preferences regarding commercial communications, leaving the rest prone to spam," a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) official told ET.
A mobile consumer has to share his/her preference to manage or completely opt out from receiving commercial communications. In the absence of it, all sorts of commercial communication, commonly called spam, can be sent to users.
"The rules state that unless a consumer opts out, it is taken as a yes for receiving commercial communications," the official said.
Trai's latest do not disturb (DND) app has made it easy to report spam and choose preferences. The regulator wants all the mobile consumers to report their preference, so that the menace of spam can be controlled, and accountability can be fixed.
"While selecting a preference, a user can choose which kind of commercial communication he or she wants to receive, or there can be a blanket no to all such communications," the official cited above said.
In case, despite choosing to not receive any commercial communications, a user gets calls or messages, the same can be reported and action is taken against the telemarketers.
The regulator had in February came out with updated rules to check spam, tightening measures for telecom operators. The rules are part of the amended Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations. It prescribed financial penalties (FDs) ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh for repeated violations in cases where telecom operators misreport counts of such calls and messages.
Trai also mandated telcos to analyse calls and SMS patterns based on parameters such as unusually high call volumes, short call durations, frequent SIM card changes, and low incoming-to-outgoing call ratios for flagging spammers in real time.
The telcos, however, have slammed the regulations, stating that over-the-top (OTT) players and telemarketers, which are the main stakeholders in sending spam, have been left out from the ambit of the regulations.
In India, 1.5-1.7 billion commercial messages are sent every day, taking the total to about 55 billion every month, according to industry data.
The regulator has been issuing various directives to telcos to curb spam and phishing.
Of the nearly 1.15 billion mobile consumers in the country, just 280 million have registered their preference, which means telemarketers are free to send all kinds of commercial communications to the remaining 870 million mobile users.
"It is a problem that while everyone complains about spam, only a minuscule percentage of people have shared their preferences regarding commercial communications, leaving the rest prone to spam," a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) official told ET.
A mobile consumer has to share his/her preference to manage or completely opt out from receiving commercial communications. In the absence of it, all sorts of commercial communication, commonly called spam, can be sent to users.
"The rules state that unless a consumer opts out, it is taken as a yes for receiving commercial communications," the official said.
Trai's latest do not disturb (DND) app has made it easy to report spam and choose preferences. The regulator wants all the mobile consumers to report their preference, so that the menace of spam can be controlled, and accountability can be fixed.
"While selecting a preference, a user can choose which kind of commercial communication he or she wants to receive, or there can be a blanket no to all such communications," the official cited above said.
In case, despite choosing to not receive any commercial communications, a user gets calls or messages, the same can be reported and action is taken against the telemarketers.
The regulator had in February came out with updated rules to check spam, tightening measures for telecom operators. The rules are part of the amended Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations. It prescribed financial penalties (FDs) ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh for repeated violations in cases where telecom operators misreport counts of such calls and messages.
Trai also mandated telcos to analyse calls and SMS patterns based on parameters such as unusually high call volumes, short call durations, frequent SIM card changes, and low incoming-to-outgoing call ratios for flagging spammers in real time.
The telcos, however, have slammed the regulations, stating that over-the-top (OTT) players and telemarketers, which are the main stakeholders in sending spam, have been left out from the ambit of the regulations.
In India, 1.5-1.7 billion commercial messages are sent every day, taking the total to about 55 billion every month, according to industry data.
The regulator has been issuing various directives to telcos to curb spam and phishing.
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