pc: timesofindia

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has reportedly given telecom operators a one-month extension till December 1 to implement a new traceability mandate for corporate messages, including one-time passwords (OTPs). The move is aimed at tackling spam and phishing activities. As per the revised deadline, messages that do not comply with the traceability mandate will be blocked from December 1 instead of the earlier deadline of November 1.

Telecom operators – Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and Reliance Jio – had expressed concerns about the potential disruptions of blocking messages that do not comply with traceability rules, as many telemarketers and businesses, including banks, may not be fully prepared. .

Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and Reliance Jio will now send daily alerts.

To mitigate these concerns, TRAI has allowed a gradual implementation process. From now until November 30, operators will issue daily warnings to entities that fail to comply with on-chain declaration requirements. From December 1, messages from non-compliant organizations will be blocked.

This is the second extension given by TRAI to the industry. Earlier, the deadline for whitelisting messages containing URLs and OTT links was extended till October 1.

TRAI's efforts to prevent spam and enhance security in the telecom sector include blacklisting entities, disconnecting mobile numbers and migrating telemarketing calls to blockchain-based platforms for strict monitoring.