A level playing field: Tackling spam calls needs collective action

In the past, Trai had come up with many regulations to curb unsolicited calls and messages but they have largely remained ineffective

In the war on spam calls and messages, telecom companies have raised their pitch against regulatory norms while seeking a level playing field in the compliance burden. Telcos, through the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI), have argued that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has unfairly kept delivery telemarketers and over-the-top (OTT) communication companies out of the ambit of its regulations. There’s merit in this argument even as OTTs and telemarketing firms fall in a grey area that is traditionally not covered by Trai.  However, with the technology leapfrogging and the definition of communication changing rapidly, Trai