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Tag: trai

  • TRAI Convenes Meeting To Protect Consumers From Harms Of Spam And Fraud |

    New Delhi: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) convened a meeting of the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCoR) to protect consumers from harms of spam and fraud; ensure more secure and efficient telecom ecosystem.

    In his address, TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti stressed the need for a joint effort to tackle the problem of spam messages and calls.

    The meeting was held on August 27, 2024, at TRAI headquarters in New Delhi. Members of the JCoR from IRDAI, PFRDA, RBI, SEBI, MoCA, MeitY, and TRAI attended the meeting. Additionally, DoT and MHA representatives joined as special guests. The JCoR serves as a collaborative platform to examine regulatory implications in the digital age and work collaboratively on regulatory frameworks.

    Lahoti urged the regulators to discuss and enable implementation of (i) whitelisting of URLs, APKs, OTT links and call back numbers to be sent in SMS, (ii) migration of existing telemarketers making promotional calls to 140 series on DLT platform, and (iii) declaration of entire chain of telemarketers engaged by them for PE-TM chain binding.

    The meeting explored potential collaborative efforts and strategies to address UCC and fraud through telecom resources. The key issues discussed are as given below-

     

    – Role of Entities in Whitelisting of URLs, APKs, OTT links, and call back numbers in the content templates and ensuring the traceability of all the messages from Senders to recipients – Many instances of misuse of headers and templates have been observed. Fraud takes place through the transmission of malicious links using the variable parts of the messages. In case of misuse of headers and content templates, it is difficult to find the entity that pushed the traffic. Therefore, mandatory whitelisting of URLs, APKs, OTT links, or call back numbers, and declaration of entire chain of telemarketers engaged by them for PE-TM chain binding as per the timelines fixed by TRAI’s latest Directions needs to be enforced.

    – Addressing the issue of entities using PRI/ SIP channels for making unsolicited calls – Many business entities make commercial voice calls using SIP/ PRI lines with hundreds of indicators in violation of TRAI’s regulations. These entities should be migrated to the designated 140 series for making promotional calls. Also, there is an urgent need to take firm action, without further delay, on spammers who are using PRI/ SIP/ bulk connections for making promotional voice calls/ Robo calls/ Pre-recorded calls.

    – Leveraging the DCA system established by telecom service providers to obtain digital consent from consumers – DCA system will be of great value to the entities, not only for messaging services, but also for voice calls. It permits the delivery of Messages and calls to the recipients despite their DND preference. The technical infrastructure for DCA is now in place. Regulators were requested to ask the entities under their jurisdiction to start using this facility in time bound manner.

    – Use of 160 series by the Entities for making service and transactional calls for easy identification by the consumers – 160 series has been allocated exclusively for Service and Transactional Calls. A Pilot Study was commissioned by TRAI and RBI to determine the technical feasibility of various options, the outcome of the same was discussed.

    – Enhancing information exchange among regulators to control frauds using telecom resources – Emphasis was given to exchange information available with various regulators on their platforms and for its effective utilisation to control frauds.

     

  • Centre Cautions Citizens Not To Fall Prey To Fraudulent Calls Impersonating TRAI |

    The Centre on Wednesday cautioned citizens not to fall prey to fraudulent calls impersonating officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). There have been numerous instances where scammers, claiming to be from the telecom regulatory body, threaten people that their numbers will be blocked soon unless they give certain personal information.

    “It has been brought to the notice of TRAI that a lot of pre-recorded calls are being made to citizens claiming to be from the TRAI,” the regulatory body said. The TRAI further clarified that it does not initiate communication with customers regarding mobile number disconnection through messages or otherwise.

    “TRAI has also not authorised any third-party agency to contact customers for such purposes. Therefore, any form of communication (call, message or notice) claiming to be from TRAI and threatening mobile number disconnection should be considered a potential fraudulent attempt and must not be entertained,” it advised.

    The government also encouraged citizens to report suspected fraudulent communications through the Chakshu facility on the Department of Telecommunications’ Sanchar Saathi platform. “For confirmed instances of cybercrime, victims should report the incident at the designated cyber crime helpline number ‘1930’ or through the official website,” said TRAI.

    Moreover, the disconnection of any mobile number due to billing, KYC or misuse if any, is done by the respective telecom service provider (TSP). Citizens are advised to be vigilant and not panic to fall prey to suspected fraudsters. TRAI said they should cross-verify such calls by contacting the authorised call centres or customer service centres of the respective TSP.

    Meanwhile, the regulatory body has directed access service providers to take concrete measures to curb misuse of messaging services, effective from September 1. The telecom authority mandated them to migrate telemarketing calls starting with 140 series to the online distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform, latest by September 30, for better monitoring and control.

  • TRAI Directs Telcos To Disconnect Unregistered Telemarketers’ Lines Over Spam calls, Blacklist Them |

    New Delhi: Sector regulator TRAI on Tuesday directed telcos to disconnect all telecom resources of unregistered telemarketers found making spam calls, and to blacklist them for up to two years.

    Further, TRAI has asked telcos to comply immediately with its latest directive and submit regular updates on action taken in this regard on a fortnightly basis.

    Issuing its directive to telcos, TRAI said this “decisive action” is expected to significantly reduce spam calls and provide relief to consumers.
    TRAI in a release said it has issued “directives to access providers to disconnect all telecom resources of unregistered senders for making spam calls and to blacklist such senders under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018” regulations.

    Towards this, TRAI has mandated all access service providers to stop voice promotional calls whether pre-recorded or computer generated or otherwise from all unregistered senders or telemarketers (UTMs) using bulk connections or other telecom resources.

    “… All promotional voice calls from the unregistered Senders/ Unregistered Telemarketer (UTMs) using Telecom Resources (SIP/ PRI/ other telecom resources) shall be stopped immediately,” TRAI said.

    If any unregistered telemarketer or sender is found to be misusing telecom resources for making commercial voice calls in violation of the regulations resulting in consumer complaints, all its telecom resources will be disconnected by the primary telecom service provider for a period up to two years.
    Further, such unregistered entities will be blacklisted for a period up to two years.

    “…Information regarding blacklisting of the sender shall be shared by the OAP (Originating Access Provider) with all other access providers on DLT platform, within 24 hours, who will, in turn, disconnect all the telecom resources given by them to that sender within the next 24 hours,” TRAI said.
    New telecom resources would not be allocated to them by any access provider during the period of blacklisting.

    “All the unregistered Senders/ Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs) using SIP/PRI/ other telecom resources to make commercial voice calls to the citizen shall be migrated to the DLT platform within one month of the issue of this direction and submit compliance report within seven days thereafter,” TRAI said.

    Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed all telcos to comply with its latest directive and submit regular updates on the actions taken on the first and sixteenth of every month.

    The regulator has declared an all-out war against the rising menace of spam calls – last week TRAI had had warned that telcos will disconnect the telecom resources of entities that are found misusing bulk connections for making spam calls, and such entities would face blacklisting by all operators for up to two years.

    TRAI held a meeting with regulatory heads of all the Telecom Service Providers last Thursday. The meeting, Chaired by TRAI Chief, was attended by the Chief Regulatory Officers of Airtel, BSNL, Quadrant Televentures Limited (QTL), Reliance Jio, Tata Teleservices Limited, Vodafone Idea Limited and V-CON Mobile & Infra Private Limited.

  • Tired Of Spam Calls? TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti Promises Stronger Regulations And Crackdown |

    New Delhi: Spam calls can be incredibly irritating as it disrupts our day and often leads to frustration. These unwanted calls can come at any time, making it difficult to focus on important tasks. Recognizing this issue, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is set to review and strengthen regulations to curb these pesky spam calls.

    On Wednesday, TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti announced plans to implement stricter measures to protect consumers from this growing nuisance. Dealing with pesky spam calls is a top priority for the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). TRAI is taking a tougher stance to address the issue with a surge in consumer complaints about unwanted calls from unauthorised telemarketers.

    “We had an interaction with service providers on spam calls and that is the next thing on our table. We will work seriously…we will plug any loopholes that people are finding on existing regulations to tighten (the checks on) spam call issue,” Lahoti made this announcement during the India SatCom 2024 event organized by the Broadband India Forum (BIF).

    Shri Anil Kumar Lahoti, Chairman, TRAI @TRAI addressing to India Satcom 2024, 9th Flagship Summit at New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/eX8HD3ClkL
    — TRAI (@TRAI) August 7, 2024

    TRAI on Tuesday held a meeting and conveyed a strong message to service providers and their telemarketers to take effective measures to curb bulk communications using voice calls. As part of the crackdown, the regulator has sought proactive action from all the stakeholders specially access service providers (telcos) and their delivery telemarketers.

    The immediate action sought includes implementing technical solutions for traceability and preventing bulk calling by enterprise customers using 10-digit numbers. Asked about the rising instances of fraud and scams over calls, and actions that are being proposed, Lahoti said that a joint committee of regulators is working collectively to address the issue.

    “The role of TRAI comes in controlling spam calls. Where it is fraudster or scammer…it also becomes an issue of law enforcement where Ministry of Home Affairs… and financial sector regulator also plays a role,” he said.

    Asked if raising the criminal liability could serve as an effective deterrent, he said, “We will review regulations to make it strong and very strict as far as control of spam is concerned…As far as the scam is concerned that falls in the domain of law”. (With PTI Inputs)

  • Facing Mobile Network Issue? Soon, Telcos To Pay You Back For Service Outages |

    NEW DELHI: Telecom operators will have to compensate subscribers in case of service outages for more than 24 hours at a district level under the new quality of service rules issued by the sector regulator Trai on Friday. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has also increased the penal amount to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 for failing to meet each quality benchmark under the new rules.

    The regulator has introduced a graded penalty system of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for different scales of rule violations under revised regulations –“The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wirelines and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024”.

    The new norms supersede three different regulations — Quality of Service (QoS) for basic and cellular mobile services, broadband services, and broadband wireless services. In case of a network outage in a district, telecom operators will need to provide a rebate on rent for postpaid customers and extend the validity of connection for pre-paid customers as per the new rules.

    “If any such significant network outage continues for more than 24 hours, the service provider shall provide a proportional rent rebate, as per subscribed tariff offering, for the actual number of days of service outage to postpaid subscribers registered in the affected district(s) in next billing cycle,” Trai said.

    The regulator will count network outage duration of more than 12 hours in a calendar day as one full day for the calculation of rent rebate or extension of validity. “Rent rebate to postpaid customer or validity extension to prepaid customer, due delay in rectification of faults or due to significant network outage of more than 24 hours, as applicable, shall be made within one week of rectification of significant network outage,” the new norms said.

    However, outages due to natural calamity will not be considered for the extension of validity. Even fixed-line service providers will have to compensate postpaid and prepaid customers if the fault in their network or service is fixed after three days. The new rule mandates broadband service providers to activate 98 per cent of connections within 7 days of customers making payment.

    Mobile service providers will need to provide service-wise (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G) geospatial coverage maps on their website that will help users. Trai’s new rules will come into force after six months.

  • TRAI Modifies Rules For New SIM Replacement Under Mobile Number Portability |

    New Delhi: SIM swap and replacement fraud is increasingly common in the telecommunications industry. It occurs when fraudsters manipulate telecom providers into transferring a mobile phone number to a new SIM card often without the victim’s knowledge. This fraudulent practice enables unauthorised access to personal information, financial accounts, and services associated with the compromised phone number.

    To combat SIM swap and replacement fraud, starting July 1, amendments to Mobile Number Portability (MNP) regulations will be implemented, The telecom regulatory body Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said on June 28. (Also Read: Vodafone Idea Joins Jio, Airtel In Major Tariff Hike On Postpaid And Prepaid Plans : Check New Prices)

    According to TRAI, SIM swap or replacement refers to acquiring a new SIM card to replace a lost or non-functional one by the existing subscriber. TRAI rules also allow users to opt for Mobile Number Portability (MNP), enabling them to keep their mobile number when switching from one telecom provider to another within the country. With a view to improving the MNP process from time to time, the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2009 have been amended eight times in the past. 

    The TRAI has also decided to introduce an additional criterion for rejection of the request for allocation of the Unique Porting Code through these amendment regulations. It further mandates that the UPC should not be allocated if the request for UPC has been made before the expiry of seven days from the date of SIM swap or replacement of the mobile number which was earlier ten days. (Also Read: Realme C61 With 5,000mAh Battery, HD+ Display Launched: Check Price, Specs, Offers & More)

     In an explanation note, the telecom regulator stated that while some stakeholders believed that a 10-day wait period following a SIM swap or replacement was appropriate, others argued that a shorter wait period, such as two to four days, would be more reasonable and that a 10-day wait period may cause subscribers inconvenience, particularly in cases of urgent porting.

     “These amendment regulations are aimed at curbing the porting of mobile numbers by way of fraudulent SIM swap/replacement by unscrupulous elements, TRAI added. (With ANI Inputs)

  • TRAI Extends Deadline To Receive Comments On Consultation Paper Auction Of Spectrum In 37-43.5 GHz Bands Identified For IMT |

    New Delhi: Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has extended the last date to receive comments/counter comments on Consultation Paper ‘Auction of Spectrum in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz bands Identified for IMT’

    “Keeping in view the request of Industry Associations for further extension of time for submission of comments and counter comments, it has been decided to extend the last date for furnishing written comments and counter comments to 24th May 2024 and 6th June 2024, respectively. No further requests for an extension of time will be considered,” DOT said in a release. 

    DoT through its letter dated 02.08.2023 had requested  Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to provide recommendations on applicable reserve price, band plan, block size, quantum of spectrum to be auctioned and associated conditions for auction of spectrum, inter-alia, in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz, and 42.5-43.5 GHz bands including the regulatory technical requirements as enunciated in the relevant provisions of the latest NFAP/Radio Regulations of the ITU. 

    In this regard, the TRAI released a Consultation Paper on ‘Auction of Spectrum in 37-37.5 GHz, 37.5-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz bands Identified for IMT’ on 04.04.2024. Initially, the last date for receiving written comments and counter comments from stakeholders on the issues raised in the Consultation Paper was fixed as 02.05.2024 and 16.05.2024, respectively. However, on the request of industry and associations, the last date for furnishing comments and counter comments was extended by two weeks, that is, up to 16.05.2024 and 30.05.2024, respectively. 

     

  • Getting Fake Calls Threatening To Disconnect Your Mobile On Behalf Of DoT/TRAI? Report At THESE Numbers |

    New Delhi: Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued an advisory to citizens to not to take fake calls being received by the citizens wherein callers are threatening to disconnect their mobile numbers, or their mobile numbers are being misused in some illegal activities. DoT said that it does not make calls to citizens threatening disconnection.

    The DoT had also issued advisory about WhatsApp calls from foreign origin mobile numbers (like +92-xxxxxxxxxx) impersonating government officials and duping the people.

    Cyber criminals through such calls try to threaten or steal personal information to carry out cyber-crime/financial frauds. 

    Where To Report Fake Calls?

    The DoT/TRAI said it does not authorise anyone to make such call on its behalf and has advised people to stay vigilant and report such fraud communications at ‘Chakshu – Report Suspected Fraud Communications’ facility of Sanchar Saathi portal (www.sancharsaathi.gov.in/sfc). Such proactive reporting helps DoT in prevention of misuse of telecom resources for cyber-crime, financial frauds, etc.

    The DoT also advises citizens to report at cyber-crime helpline number 1930 or www.cybercrime.gov.in in case of already a victim of cyber-crime or financial fraud.

    Various measures have been taken to combat suspected fraud communications and to curb cybercrime activities. Under CHAKSHU facility, 52 Principal Entities, involved in sending malicious and phishing SMSs to the citizens have been blacklisted. 700 SMS content templates have been deactivated. 348 mobile handsets blacklisted on pan- India basis across all telecom operators.

    10,834 suspected mobile numbers flagged for re-verification to the telecom operators out of which 8272 mobile connections disconnected failing re-verification till 30th April 2024. 1.86 lakh mobile handsets blocked on pan India basis for involvement in cybercrime/financial frauds.

    Advisories have been issued on a regular basis for the public to create awareness on fake notices impersonating DoT/TRAI, suspected fraud communications and malicious calls via press, SMS, and social media, said DoT.