Telcos call for prompt notification of guidelines to curb spam calls

Draft norms had called for tracing and taking action against spam sources

Telecom operators have urged the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) to promptly notify the draft guidelines aimed at preventing spam calls and messages. In a letter to DoCA Secretary Nidhi Khare, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has pointed out that the norms can plug gaps in the current regulatory regime.

 

A DoCA committee had earlier this year come out with the draft guidelines, which recommended action against the source of spam calls and messages. This proposal has been supported by COAI, which represents private sector operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea.

 

The draft guidelines had called for mapping responsibility directly to the source of Unsolicited Business Communication (UBC), that is, “users acting in their individual capacities or as agents of entities such as banks, real-estate companies”. “Through these guidelines, the department can fill an important gap in the existing regulatory regime to curb such UBC," COAI said in the letter, which has been accessed by Business Standard.

 

The government's ongoing war on rising instances of spam calls and messages is done through the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), 2018, formulated under the Trai Act, 1997. However, COAI has flagged this as an incomplete and ineffective solution, as there are several entities in the ecosystem responsible for UBC that are outside the jurisdiction of Trai.

 

"The TCCCPR imposes obligations on Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to address this menace by directing them to disconnect the connections of users who are the source of such communication. This is a reactive approach that does not fix the issue at its root, and, therefore, the system continues to be misused by such users through continued innovative approaches," COAI said.

 

OTTs should be covered

 

The industry body has also pointed out that with advancing digitisation and voice calls transitioning increasingly to over the top (OTT) communication platforms, which presently fall outside the regulatory oversight of the telecom ecosystem, it is becoming more difficult to track such calls and block them. "The beneficiary users/businesses (sources of UBC) are getting smarter and are utilising more available platforms beyond traditional voice calls/messages to reach out to consumers," COAI said.

 

Telcos have repeatedly pointed out that OTT communication services are covered under the new Telecom Act as an access service, and demanded “same service same rules” for OTT players.

 

Meanwhile, tech interests have stressed any additional regulatory intervention would lead to entry costs on the industry, increase the cost of service which could be passed on to consumers, and thereby stymy the virtuous economy OTTs are contributing to.

 

The 46-page Telecom Act, passed in Parliament in December last year, defined telecommunications services as "any service for telecommunications". Initial drafts of the Bill had specifically extended the definition to OTT services among a wide range of specialised communication services, including machine-to-machine communication, in-flight and maritime connectivity. This was demanded by TSPs that had argued OTTs offer audio and video calls and messaging without paying licence or spectrum fees. But the final Bill had not mentioned OTTs specifically.