AI spam detection now mandatory

Trai requires all telecom operators to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect suspected spam calls and share intelligence with other operators.

Robocalls now cost money

A new termination charge of 5 paise per minute applies to application-to-person calls or robocalls used for bulk calling. Regular commercial calls remain exempt.

Pre-declaration required for automated calls

Entities using robocalls must pre-declare their use with telecom providers along with the numbers. Failure to do so means the calls will be treated as spam.

Graded penalties for repeat offenders

If five or more numbers from a sender are flagged within 10 days, telcos must take action including KYC re-verification, physical checks, and possible disconnection.

Protected numbers can't be blocked

Calls from 1600 and 140 number series cannot be flagged as spam by telcos or call management apps to ensure important commercial and government calls reach users.

“Such tagging, without the safeguards built into the regulatory mechanism, risk mislabelling genuine commercial communications and government communications as spam”

Consumer appeals mechanism added

Trai has introduced a new consumer appeals mechanism as part of the third amendment to the 2018 Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations.