TRAI directs telecom companies to enhance apps and portals for spam complaint registration

The TRAI in an official statement said "In its ongoing effort to mitigate the issue of UCC, commonly referred to as spam, TRAI has mandated Access Providers to enhance their Mobile Apps and Web portals to make them more user-friendliness for registration of UCC complaint and settings of preference".

The authority has mandated Access Providers or telecom companies to ensure that options for UCC complaint registration and preference management are easily accessible on Access Providers' mobile applications and websites. Also, essential details for the registration of complaints should be automatically populated, if users grant permission to access their call logs and other relevant data.

The TRAI has also implemented amendments to the Performance Monitoring Report (PMR) formats. In order to have more granular monitoring, all Access Providers will be required to submit PMRs on a monthly basis, as opposed to the previous quarterly reporting cycle.

Earlier, the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, had sought public comments on Draft Guidelines for the Prevention and Regulation of Unsolicited and Unwarranted Business Communication.

The Draft Guidelines are placed on the website of the Department of Consumer Affairs for public comments, suggestions and feedback. The inputs may be provided to the Department latest by 21st July 2024.

The draft guidelines have been drafted after detailed deliberations with various stakeholders including telecom operators, telecom regulators and telecom organizations.

The department has finalised the draft guidelines after in depth consultations with telecom regulator TRAI. It was pointed out that despite TRAI regulations in place, such misleading and deceptive calls and messages have become a sore point for mobile users. (ANI)