The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued new rules aimed at blocking unsolicited text messages. As per the new guidelines, operators are to block international text messages as per the rules applicable to text messages originating within the country.
The regulator has asked operators to bar any source or number outside the country that generates more than two hundred text messages per hour with a similar signature. These text messages contain alphanumeric headers or start with numbers with international codes.
Earlier, TRAI had issued The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference regulations which aimed at stopping unwanted telemarketing calls and messages. Telemarketers who failed to comply with the regulation were liable to pay a fine of up to Rs 250,000 for disturbing people registered under the ?Do Not Disturb? category. Moreover, according to the new regulations, telemarketers were required to register with TRAI under a distinct number series beginning with 140 in order to enable consumers to easily distinguish between ordinary and marketing calls.
Though not wholly successful, these guidelines did serve to block unwanted calls and text messages for some time. After a short respite, however, several telemarketers began routing text messages via servers located abroad. According to the regulator, such messages originate from locations within
The regulator has asked operators to implement the new rule within 30 days.
