Telecom regulator to review, tighten regulations to curb spam calls: TRAI Chairman

New Delhi: Telecom regulator will review and strengthen regulations to curb pesky, spam calls, TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti said on Wednesday.

The crackdown on pesky calls has figured high on the agenda of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, and the regulator has been hardening its stance on the issue, amid rising consumer complaints around unsolicited communications from unauthorised telemarketers.

"We had an interaction with service providers on spam calls and that is the next thing on our table. We will work seriously...we will plug any loopholes that people are finding on existing regulations to tighten (the checks on) spam call issue," Lahoti said on the sidelines of India SatCom 2024 organised by Broadband India Forum (BIF).

TRAI on Tuesday held a meeting and conveyed a strong message to service providers and their telemarketers to take effective measures to curb bulk communications using voice calls.

As part of the crackdown, the regulator has sought proactive action from all the stakeholders specially access service providers (telcos) and their delivery telemarketers.

The immediate action sought includes implementing technical solutions for traceability and preventing bulk calling by enterprise customers using 10-digit numbers.

Asked about the rising instances of fraud and scams over calls, and actions that are being proposed, Lahoti said that a joint committee of regulators is working collectively to address the issue.

"The role of TRAI comes in controlling spam calls. Where it is fraudster or scammer...it also becomes an issue of law enforcement where Ministry of Home Affairs... and financial sector regulator also plays a role," he said.

Asked if raising the criminal liability could serve as an effective deterrent, he said, "We will review regulations to make it strong and very strict as far as control of spam is concerned...As far as the scam is concerned that falls in the domain of law".