Measures to Curb Misuse of Headers and Content Templates

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भारतीय दूरसंचार विनियामक प्राधिकरण Telecom Regulatory Authority of India [भारत सरकार / Government of India]

TRAI

30th November, 2024

DIRECTION

Subject: Direction under section 13, read with sub-clauses (i) and (v) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11, of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997) regarding measures to curb misuse of Headers and Content Templates under Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018).

F. No. D-27/1/(2)/2024-QoS (E-13563) - Whereas the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (hereinafter referred as the “Authority”), established under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997) (hereinafter referred to as “TRAI Act”), has been entrusted with discharge of certain functions, inter alia, to regulate the telecommunication services; ensure technical compatibility and effective inter-connection between different service providers; lay-down the standards of quality of service to be provided by the service providers and ensure the quality of service and conduct the periodical survey of such services provided by the service providers so as to protect the interest of the consumers of telecommunication service;

2. And whereas the Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under section 36, read with sub-clause (v) of clause (b) and clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 11, of the TRAI Act, made the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018) dated the 19th July, 2018 (hereinafter referred to as the “regulations”), to regulate unsolicited commercial communications;

3. And whereas the Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under section 13, read with sub-clauses (i) and (v) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11, of the TRAI Act and the provisions of the regulations, issued a Direction No. D-27/1/(2)/2024-QoS (E-13563) dated the 20th August 2024 regarding measures to curb misuse of Headers and Content Templates under the regulations directing all Access Providers to, inter alia, ensure that the messages from Principal Entities (PEs) to the recipient are traceable and, w.e.f. 01st November 2024, all messages, where the chain of Telemarketers(TMs) is not defined or does not match, are rejected;

4. And whereas, all Access Providers have since implemented the technical solutions; but, to provide a transition time for technical upgrades of PEs/TMs IT Platforms, and chain declaration by them, the Authority, vide its Direction No. D-27/1/(2)/2024-QoS (E-13563) dated 28th October 2024, inter alia directed the Access Providers to ensure that all the PEs and TMs shall complete the PE-TM chain binding at the earliest to avoid disruption in the transmission of messages; and reject the messages, with effect from 1st December 2024, where the complete chain is not defined or does not match with pre-defined chain.

5. And whereas the Authority held review meetings on 7th, 19th and 26th November 2024 with the Access Providers to review the implementation of the traceability of messages from PEs to the recipient as directed vide Direction dated 28th October 2024 and noted that there is good progress in effectiveness of technical measures including the chain declaration and registration however there still are, some non-compliant PEs & TMs. Also a representation has been received from an Access Provider and COAI to extend the deadline of 1st November due to potential co-ordination issues with PEs/TMs on weekends and certain other reasons.

6. Now, therefore, after a holistic review of the status of implementation of PE-TM chain binding process, the Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under section 13, read with sub-clauses (i) and (v) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11, of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997) and the provisions of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018), and in partial modification of para 7 of Direction No. D-27/1/(2)/2024-QoS (E-13563) dated the 28th October 2024, hereby directs all the Access Providers to –

(a) ensure that PEs and TMs must complete PE-TM chain binding promptly to prevent service disruptions. (b) daily warnings to be continued to be issued to non-compliant PEs and TMs who fail to implement PE-TM chain binding or upgrade their systems, informing them that if corrective actions are not taken promptly, message transmission will be blocked effective from 11th of December 2024. (c) Access Providers will continue to submit daily progress reports to the Authority regarding message compliance with chain binding requirements; (d) reject the messages, with effect from 11th December 2024, where the complete chain is not defined or does not match with pre-defined chain.

7. All Access Providers are directed to comply with the above Directions and furnish to the Authority an updated status on action taken, including updating of Codes of Practice (CoPs), within fifteen days from the date of issue of this Direction.

(Sanjay Kumar) Joint Advisor (QoS-II)

To All Access Providers