Telecom operators are believed to be facing technology-related issues in implementing the system mandated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to curb unsolicited calls, according to news reports.
With telemarketers mandated to use ‘700’ series number, the originating operator now has to verify that the dialled number is not part of the ?do not call? registry’. Only after verification is completed, the call can go through.The system currently analyses only the dialled number and not originating number (from where the call is made).
According to Rajan S. Mathews, director-general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the operators have highlighted certain technical issues in implementing the ‘filtering’ requirements mandated by TRAI for originating operators. He added that the companies are working towards meeting the January 31 deadline.
Prior to this, TRAI had set January 1, 2011 as the deadline for operators to implement the guidelines on unsolicited telemarketing calls and text messages. This was, however, extended to January 31. As per the guidelines, telemarketers will be issued a different set of numbers starting with ‘700’, which will help subscribers identify commercial calls and decide whether to accept or reject such calls.
Unlike the previous guidelines, which only provided for a ‘do not call’ registry, the new regulations give customers different options to list under the ‘fully blocked’ category (do not call registry) or the ‘partially blocked’ category, under which the user will only receive text messages in the categories they choose.
Mathews added that in order to do filtering, operators will have to install new hardware and software to perform filtering and will also have to programme their mobile switches to facilitate integration of the new hardware and software installed to do filtering. This, he said, would be an extremely complex task, keeping in mind the number of operators and the number of circles and mobile switches involved.
