The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly once again urged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to issue recommendations for regulating telemarketers, reinforcing a demand long raised by mobile operators seeking stronger action against spam calls and messages.
In its latest communication, the DoT emphasised the need for regulatory oversight of telemarketers, describing them as a central link in the promotional and marketing communications chain. The move follows TRAI’s earlier response to DoT’s initial request, in which the regulator expressed reservations and sought further clarity on the need for such regulation.
Telecom operators have been pressing for direct accountability of telemarketers, arguing that without regulation, spam will persist. DoT has aligned with this view, noting that the current framework primarily penalises operators, leaving telemarketers, who aggregate and disseminate bulk commercial messages, outside the ambit of accountability.
At present, TRAI imposes financial penalties on telcos for spam originating on their networks, expecting operators to recover these amounts from telemarketers under commercial agreements. However, this system has proven ineffective since telemarketers frequently switch operators, making enforcement difficult. Operators also cannot impose strict compliance conditions on them, leading to gaps in curbing unsolicited communications.
