TRAI Tightens Rules to Curb Spam Calls and Messages, to Use AI and ML Technology
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made significant amendments to its regulatory framework to prevent Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) and protect consumers from fraud.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has amended the 'Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018' (TCCPPR, 2018) to curb Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC), protect consumers from fraud, and prevent the misuse of telecom resources. The authority has implemented the 'Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026'.
Under these amendments, AI/ML-based systems will be leveraged to strengthen regulatory enforcement. Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) must now identify the Calling Line Identification (CLI) of senders with a high probability of sending UCC and share this information with other providers. If five or more CLIs associated with a sender are flagged within ten days, actions such as KYC re-verification, physical verification, and disconnection of resources in case of repeated violations will be taken. However, special numbering series such as 140xx, 1600xx, and 1601xx will not be flagged as spam to ensure that legitimate government and commercial communications are not disrupted.
Special emphasis has been placed on the regulation of Application-to-Person (A2P) calls. Entities using technologies such as autodialers and robo-calls must now make a pre-declaration to their TSP. Any A2P call made without such a declaration will be treated as UCC. Additionally, a termination charge of up to ₹0.05 per minute has been imposed by the terminating access provider on the originating access provider.
An appeal mechanism has been introduced for consumers, allowing them to appeal against the resolution of UCC complaints before an appellate authority within 15 days. This appeal can be made via the TRAI DND app, the TSP portal, or by calling 1909. Complaint-based action has also been accelerated; action will now be initiated if three or more unique complaints are received within ten days and the AI system flags the activity as suspicious.
Other key changes include the suspension of header and content templates within six hours of misuse, the setting of a seven-day timeline for inquiry-based communication for e-commerce platforms, and a ban on Call Management Applications (CMA) blocking official number series. Provisions have also been made to provide a digital interface with the DLT platform for Virtual Network Operators (VNO).
