TRAI

Telecom service providers can levy a termination charge of up to 5 paise on carriers originating undeclared A2P calls, including robocalls and AI-based calls

Telecom regulator TRAI on Friday tightened its framework to curb Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC), incorporating artificial intelligence-based detection of suspected spam into its regulations and introducing consumer appeal mechanism. Under the amended regulations, telecom service providers will identify numbers with a high probability of being used for sending spam and share the information among themselves. Where five or more numbers associated with a sender are flagged within 10 days, further investigation and graded action will follow, including KYC re-verification, physical verification, barring of outgoing services and disconnection in cases of repeated violations. TRAI has also defined Application-to-Person or A2P calls as calls initiated by an application, software system or automated platform without direct human dialling, including autodialling, robocalls and pre-recorded or artificial voice technologies. Entities using A2P calls will have to pre-declare their

Telecom regulator asks Vi to check matter internally

COAI and UK government sign MoU to strengthen cooperation on AI, digital connectivity, digital trust and responsible technology-led innovation

Artificial Intelligence can transform how telecom networks are managed and threats detected, but its growing use must be accompanied by safeguards, human oversight, and the ability to intervene where necessary as technology becomes more autonomous, TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti said on Monday. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in communications networks, operators and technology companies need to invest in responsible AI, undertake risk assessments, maintain logs of decisions and test models before deployment, Lahoti said, stressing that high-impact systems should retain human oversight. "AI creates opportunity, but also requires safeguards through the right kind of governance approach," Lahoti said, adding that automation should improve outcomes without obscuring accountability. Human oversight, auditability and the ability to intervene will remain critical even as networks become increasingly autonomous, the top boss of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said. "W

Airtel and Jio have accused Vi of making it harder for customers to port out. The dispute recalls a 2021 row that led Trai to order telcos to enable port-out SMS on all plans

Vi denies wrongdoing, saying it operates within existing laws and regulations; Airtel and Jio allege deceptive solicitation and hurdles to mobile number porting

Today's opinions examine India's trade barriers, satellite spectrum pricing, CEO succession, the liquidity challenge from FCNR(B) inflows and Brics' evolving global role

Govt must clear the way for satellite communication

Ad rates are unlikely to change as increased inventory becomes available; media buyers say the move will help prime-time advertisers and broadcasters during festive season

The six months from February through July mark a sharp reversal for Vi. During the preceding six months, the carrier lost more than 3.6 million customers

The 1601 series will be issued to utilities, courier and logistics providers for transactional and service calls, helping consumers identify legitimate callers

India's telecom regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), has proposed new quality of service rules to support 5G network slicing, a technology that creates dedicated.

Trai has proposed norms for 5G network slicing. Its draft has revived questions over whether differentiated services can coexist with India's net neutrality framework

Draft norms mandate 21-day prior notice for new network slices, each with separate service quality standards

Nearly 13.16 billion promotional calls originated via the dedicated 140 series between April and June of 2026, a TRAI report said on Tuesday, adding 1.48 billion calls were blocked after verification with registered do-not-disturb preferences of the customers. As per the quarterly report listing out the action against Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC) during Q1 FY27, the commercial SMS originating from registered senders/telemarketers stood at about 248.06 billion. The promotional SMS blocked after verification with registered DND preferences of the customers stood at 7.30 billion. According to the TRAI report, as many as 1.15 billion calls originated from 1600 dedicated series numbers, during Q1 FY 2026-27. TRAI introduced the designated 140 series for promotional calls to ensure that such calls originate from a dedicated numbering series, enabling consumers to easily identify and manage such calls. The designated series enables the consumer to exercise the choice of ...

The upgraded MyCall app allows users to rate voice calls, report call drops and share post-call feedback, helping telecom operators and Trai identify network issues and improve services

Telecom subscriber base in the country increased marginally to 134.8 crore in June, driven by net addition of subscribers on the networks of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday. Bharti Airtel led subscriber growth during the month, adding 31.63 lakh users compared with May. The additions included 29.89 lakh mobile subscribers and 1.73 lakh fixed-line connections. It was followed by Reliance Jio which reported a net addition of 22.91 lakh subscribers, comprising 21.46 lakh in mobile segment and 1.44 lakh in fixed line segment. Together, the two private telecom operators accounted for 54.54 lakh, or about 87 per cent, of the total net addition of 62 lakh subscribers in June. "The number of total telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,343.1 million at the end of May 2026 to 1,348.08 million at the end of June 2026, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.37 per cent," sector regulator TRA

Swedish call-screening app says GSMA membership reflects its expanding role in mobile security and caller identity as it seeks closer collaboration with operators and regulators

TRAI has objections to Truecaller displaying a 'frequently blocked' badge within the dedicated number series, with a senior regulatory official saying that such tagging is "not advisable" as it tends to misguide and confuse telecom consumers, creating unwarranted suspicion about calls from 1600 and 140 categories that otherwise fall under the regulated framework. Instead, the regulator believes that Truecaller should display a label informing users that they can "exercise their choice" to block unwanted communication from the 140 series through TRAI's official Do Not Disturb (DND) preference management app. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) official, the solution lies in creating further awareness and outreach around the DND, to educate people about the choices they have. TRAI has mandated the use of 1600 series numbers for service and transaction calls by regulated banking, financial services and insurance or BFSI entities, and government-to-citizen ...