India’s telecom operators, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi), have urged the Department of Consumer Affairs (DOCA) to swiftly issue guidelines to curb spam in business communications.
In a letter sent last week to DOCA by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the telcos said such guidelines could help close regulatory loopholes that are currently being exploited by spammers.
The proposed guidelines could help address unsolicited messages from all sources, including unregistered telemarketers and over-the-top (OTT) players, who currently fall outside the purview of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
While TRAI’s existing Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR) governs registered telemarketers, it places the burden of compliance primarily on telecom operators, leaving unregistered entities largely unaccountable. Also, the DoT had earlier asked TRAI to provide recommendations on regulating telemarketers, but the regulatory body has yet to release a consultation paper on the matter.
