Trai asks telcos to migrate 140 series calls to DLT platform to curb fraud

In a bid to prevent the misuse of messaging services and safeguard mobile users from fraud, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed all telecom operators to implement specific measures, as announced by the Ministry of Communications today. One of the key steps is the migration of telemarketing calls that start with the 140 series to the online Digital Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. This directive mandates that all telecom operators complete this migration by September 30, 2024, to enhance monitoring and control.

Starting September 1, 2024, all Access Service Providers will be banned from transmitting messages containing URLs, APKs, OTT links, or callback numbers that are not pre-approved by the senders, the ministry states.

It notes that Trai has introduced penalties for non-compliance with these regulations. Content templates that are incorrectly categorised will be blacklisted, and repeat offenders will face a one-month suspension of services. Additionally, all Headers and content templates registered on the DLT platform must comply with the prescribed guidelines, and a single content template cannot be linked to multiple Headers.

If a sender's headers or content templates are found to be misused, Trai has ordered an immediate suspension of traffic from all the headers and content templates of that sender for their verification. The suspension will only be lifted once the sender takes legal action against the misuse. Delivery-Telemarketers must identify and report those responsible for such misuse within two business days, or they will face similar penalties, it adds.

Earlier this year, the telecom department (DoT) introduced the 160 numbering series for transactional and service calls, reserving the 140 series for marketing calls. To further enhance traceability, Trai has required that, from November 1, 2024, all messages must have a traceable trail from the sender to the recipient. Messages with undefined or mismatched telemarketer chains will be automatically rejected.

Recently, the Trai directed telecom operators to impose a two-year blacklist on any entity found misusing bulk connections for spam calls. This directive was issued following a high-level meeting on August 8, 2024, attended by regulatory heads from major telecom companies, including Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio, Tata Teleservices, Vodafone Idea, and Quadrant Televentures.

The release following the meeting indicated that if an entity was caught using its SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) or PRI (Primary Rate Interface) lines for spam calls, the telecom service provider (TSP) would disconnect all telecom resources associated with that entity and blacklist it. Other TSPs were required to receive information about blacklisted entities and enforce a two-year ban on providing new telecom resources to them, thereby preventing these entities from acquiring connections from any other telecom provider. This measure aimed to stop entities from switching operators to avoid blacklisting.