Trai

Truecaller joins GSMA days after Trai standoff over spam call warnings

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

Show DND choice to users, not frequently blocked label: Trai to Truecaller

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 ...

Arpu convergence belies a persistent prepaid-postpaid tariff divergence

India's prepaid ARPU has overtaken postpaid for the first time, but experts say tariff gaps will persist as M2M users and premium postpaid benefits reshape the market

Can DTH pay channels be offered free on TV apps? Draft rules spark debate

Draft broadcasting rules have revived a dispute over whether apps streaming scheduled TV channels should follow the same pricing, licensing and consumer protection norms as DTH and cable operators

Truecaller committed to working with Trai, Meity, DoT on spam issue: CEO

He added that constructive engagement with the authorities remains central to the company's approach

Trai says 1600-, 140- number series can't be tagged and filtered

The telecom regulator said designated 1600 and 140 number series used for banking, financial and government communications cannot be tagged, blocked or filtered by apps

Who decides a call is 'spam'? Inside the systems behind caller IDs

Your phone may warn you about spam before you answer. But who decides which calls get that tag, and on what basis? Read on

Meity evaluating Trai request for regulating caller ID apps: S Krishnan

Meity is evaluating Trai's request to act against caller ID apps under the IT Act as banks seek a dedicated number series to ensure genuine customer calls are answered

Three decades on, does India's telecom regulator need a fresh mandate?

In the rapidly evolving telecom landscape, changes are needed to make Trai more agile

Telecom subscriber base rises to 1.34 bn in May, Airtel leads growth: Trai

Telecom subscriber base grew to 134.3 crore in May, driven by net additions on the Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio networks, according to Trai data released on Thursday. Airtel led the growth in subscriber base with net addition of 29.8 lakh subscribers over the month of April, comprising 29.26 lakh in the mobile segment and 53,809 in fixed line connection segment. It was followed by Reliance Jio, which reported a net addition of 22.55 lakh subscribers, comprising 21.54 lakh in the mobile segment and 1.01 lakh in thefixed line segment. Both private telecom operators jointly contributed 52.36 lakh new subscribers, or about 94 per cent, in the total net addition of 55.6 lakh subscribers in May. "The number of total telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,337.54 million at the end of April 2026 to 1,343.10 million at the end of May 2026, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.42 per cent," Trai's monthly data subscriber report for May 2026 said. The total number of wireles

India's telecom market may be nearing saturation: What drives growth next?

With tele-density nearing saturation levels, telecom operators may have to rely less on adding users and more on monetising data, broadband and digital services

Priority postpaid plans compliant with net-neutrality norms: Airtel

The telecom operator told the government its priority postpaid plans are compliant with TRAI and DoT norms and do not degrade service quality for prepaid users

'Does not breach net neutrality': Airtel defends Priority Postpaid service

Bharti Airtel has defended its new "Priority Postpaid" service before a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) panel, asserting that the offering, powered by 5G network slicing, neither violates net neutrality norms nor degrades service quality for prepaid users. According to the submission made by Airtel in response to a clarification sought by the Committee on Communications and Information Technology, the company said not allowing the use of mainstream features of 5G to offer services will jeopardise the potential of 6G in the country. "Priority Postpaid is implemented in a content-neutral manner and is fully consistent with the existing TRAI and DoT framework. There is no blocking, throttling, content-specific prioritisation, zero-rating, or preferential treatment of any application," Airtel said. Airtel had launched "Priority Postpaid" plans on May 19, which promise consistent speed even in crowded markets for postpaid customers. "Airtel Priority feature does not degrade the .

Bharti Airtel upgrades postpaid customers to priority with 5G slicing

Move to create competition for high value postpaid customer base; net neutrality norms may come into question

India's D2D ambitions depend on hardware and global standards: Explained

India's plans for satellite-to-smartphone connectivity face a reality check, with Apple and Google reportedly flagging hardware constraints, spectrum policy challenges, and the need for globally align

Trai proposes penalties for telecom firms over complaint redressal lapses

Trai has proposed penalties on telecom operators for improper complaint handling, delayed reporting and non-compliance with revised grievance redressal rules

Best of BS Opinion: Credit guarantee scheme will help small businesses

Today's opinion wrap explores the economic fallout of the West Asia conflict, digital governance reforms, telecom disaster preparedness and the growing role of AI in policymaking

Trai's long tryst with emergency calls still remains a work in progress

This historical context is worth recalling amid the overwhelming response to the government's latest mobile siren experiment as a disaster management measure

Trai begins talk on vehicle-to-everything connectivity to boost road safety

Regulator seeks stakeholder views on spectrum use for V2X networks aimed at improving road safety, reducing accidents, and enabling intelligent transport systems

Can public WiFi expansion in India survive the era of cheap mobile data?

Despite PM-WANI's push, India's public WiFi expansion faces weak business models and poor infrastructure, raising questions over its long-term digital relevance