Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations 2018

News: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently amended the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018, introducing stricter rules to combat spam calls and SMS messages.

About Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018

• It was introduced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to curb unsolicited commercial communication (spam) through calls and SMS.
• It aims to protect consumers from unwanted promotional and spam communications.

Salient Features 

1. Consent-Based Communication System

• Telemarketers can send messages only with prior consent from consumers.
• Consumers can provide preference settings to receive messages only from selected categories like banking, education, health, etc.
• Introduction of Digital Consent Acquisition (DCA), enabling businesses to digitally collect consent from customers for sending promotional messages.

2. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)

• Blockchain-based DLT platform implemented to ensure transparency and prevent unauthorized messages.
• Every message sender (entity) and telemarketer is required to register on the DLT platform.
• Consent and preferences of customers are recorded on the blockchain for easy tracking and verification.

3. Sender ID and Message Templates

• Businesses and telemarketers must register message templates and headers (Sender IDs) on the DLT platform.
• Headers (Sender IDs) help recipients identify the sender and distinguish message types like promotional, transactional, or service-related.
• Messages not matching pre-registered templates are filtered and blocked.

4. Types of Commercial Messages

• Messages categorized into four types, each identified by a suffix in the header:
  • -P for Promotional messages.
  • -S for Service-related messages.
  • -T for Transactional messages (e.g., OTPs, banking alerts).
  • -G for Government messages.

5. Consumer Complaint and Redressal

• Consumers can report unsolicited messages or spam via SMS or the DND (Do Not Disturb) app.
• Complaints are forwarded to the respective telecom provider for investigation and action.

6. Penalties for Violations

• Strict actions against violators like blocking telemarketer services and blacklisting repeat offenders.
• Financial penalties (₹2-10 lakh) imposed on telecom providers for failing to act on complaints or misreporting spam issues.

7. Recent Amendments (2025 Update)

• Tighter timelines for spam complaint handling:
  • Complaints to be accepted up to 7 days after a spam call/SMS.
  • Action on unregistered telemarketers within 5 days.
• Disclosure requirements strengthened for legitimate business messages.
• Use of Artificial Intelligence for spam detection based on:
  • High call volumes.
  • Short call durations.
  • Low incoming-to-outgoing call ratios