Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Amendment Regulations

TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART III, SECTION 4 TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA

NOTIFICATION

NEW DELHI, 21st DECEMBER, 2018

THE TELECOM COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS CUSTOMER PREFERENCE (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2018 (10 of 2018)

F. No. 311-04/2017-QoS...... In exercise of powers conferred by section 36, read with sub-clause (v) of clause (b) and clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 11, of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997 (24 of 1997), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India hereby makes the following regulations to amend the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (6 of 2018), namely: -

1. (1) These regulations may be called the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 (10 of 2018).

(2) These regulations shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

1. In regulation 1 of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018, in sub-regulation (2), ---

(a) for clause (e) the following clause shall be substituted, namely: -

"(e) regulations 23, 29 and sub-regulations (5) and (6) of regulation 25 of these regulations shall come into force after 150 days from the date of publication of these regulations in the Official Gazette";

(b) after clause (e), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:-

"(f) regulation 24 of these regulations shall come into force from the 31st day of January, 2019";

"(g) regulations 26, 27 and sub-regulations (1), (2), (3) and (4) of regulation 25 of these regulations shall come into force from the 28th day of February, 2019".

(U K Srivastava) Secretary Incharge

Note. 1. — The principal regulations were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 dated the 19th July, 2018 vide notification No. 311-04/2017-QoS dated the 19th July, 2018.

Note. 2. — The Explanatory Memorandum explains the objects and reasons of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 ( 10 of 2018).

---

Explanatory Memorandum

1. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notified the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 dated 19th July 2018 to develop a new UCC ecosystem for effectively curbing Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC). Regulations 4, 5, 11, 15, 28, 34, 35 and 36 were required to come into force after 30 days from the date of publication of principal regulations in the Official Gazette. Regulations 6, 13 and 14 were required to come into force after 90 days from the date of publication of principal regulations in the Official Gazette. Regulations 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 18 and 32 were required to come into force after 120 days from the date of publication of principal regulations in the Official Gazette. Regulations 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29 were required to come into force after 150 days from the date of publication of principal regulations in the Official Gazette. Remaining regulations of principal regulations were required to be come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. In compliance of Regulation 16 of prinicipal regulation, all TSPs submitted their CoPs according to requirements of the regulations. However, various representations were received from Access Service Providers for extention of timelines of these regulations, as establishment of new ecosystem and new entities may take a longer time. Subsequenlty, workshop and meetings were organized with Access providers to assess the readiness of implementation. After discussions and deliberations, it was felt that Access Providers require some more time for implementation. In view of above, the Authority has decided to extend the dates for implementation of above said regulations.

3. Accordingly, clause (e) of sub-regulation (2) of regulation 1 of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 has been amended.