The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its annual update on the enforcement of unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) and consumer engagement under the do not disturb (DND) ecosystem for the year 2025, highlighting a significant scale-up in regulatory action against spam telemarketing.
During 2025, 731,120 notices were issued to unregistered telemarketers (UTMs) found in violation of UCC norms. As part of progressive enforcement measures, 473,075 entities were subjected to one-month communication restrictions, while 89,936 repeat offenders faced six-month communication caps. In addition, 184,482 telecom resources were disconnected during the year for continued non-compliance. Cumulatively, since August 2024, over 2.10 million telecom resources have been disconnected, reflecting intensified efforts to curb persistent spam networks and strengthen compliance across the telecom ecosystem.
The enforcement action is supported with sustained efforts to encourage consumer for reporting of spam. In 2025, a total of 3.10 million UCC complaints were registered across all channels. Of these, 1.70 million complaints – over half – were submitted through the DND application, underscoring increased consumer participation in reporting unsolicited communications.
Commenting on the development, chairman, TRAI, said, “TRAI’s enforcement efforts in 2025 are anchored in the principle that consumers should experience perceptible improvement in control of unsolicited commercial communications. Enhanced consumer participation through the DND ecosystem has enabled faster identification of violations and more decisive action against persistent offenders.”
Further, monthly data indicated that complaints against UTMs consistently accounted for the overwhelming majority of reported cases throughout the year, significantly outnumbering complaints against registered telemarketers.
TRAI has adopted a two-pronged strategy that enables legitimate, consent-based commercial communications through registered entities, while simultaneously deploying regulatory, technological and enforcement measures, such as distributed ledger technology (blockchain)-based registration, artificial intelligence led spam detection, mandatory use of designated number series, strengthened complaint mechanisms, and disconnection of non-compliant senders, to curb unsolicited communications from unregistered entities.
The DND ecosystem has also seen a significant increase in adoption. DND app installations grew by 84.43 per cent year-on-year in 2025, rising to 2.80 million cumulative installations, compared to 1.52 million in 2024.The combination of increased consumer reporting and strengthened enforcement mechanisms has enabled faster identification of violators and more decisive regulatory action.
