TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has strengthened its approach to stopping unwanted business messages by incorporating AI technology to spot potentially spam calls and establishing fresh guidelines for automated business calls. Under these updated rules, telecom companies must exchange details about numbers showing signs of spam behavior and conduct deeper reviews when a single sender is connected to multiple flagged numbers. The updated framework establishes standards for automated calls, applies fees to certain A2P calls, gives users the right to challenge decisions, and introduces fresh limits on call-management tools.
TRAI incorporates AI-powered detection into spam prevention measures
TRAI explained that telecom companies will employ AI-powered tools to spot numbers that seem very likely to participate in spam activities and exchange this information with competing providers. This updated method enables companies to enforce stricter measures when spam red flags appear for several numbers tied to the same sender.
When operators identify five or more such numbers in a 10-day window, they’re permitted to launch fresh identity verification and in-person checks of the sender. Additional measures might involve shutting down outgoing communication, and persistent breaches could ultimately lead to service termination.
These modifications also apply to automated business calls. TRAI has characterized application-to-person (A2P) calls as communications delivered through an app, digital platform, or automated system where no person manually initiates the call. This covers auto-dialed communications, robot calls, recorded announcements, and calls using computer-generated or pre-recorded voices.
Organizations and enterprises utilizing the A2P calling system must notify their telecom provider about this capability and the phone numbers involved in these communications. Not reporting A2P calls will cause TRAI to classify them as unwanted business communication.
The new rules also introduce a termination charge of up to 5 paise per minute for A2P calls. TRAI will exempt calls made within the numbering series designated for commercial communications, as well as calls specifically approved by the authority. For customers, this new framework provides a mechanism for appealing actions taken under anti-spam regulations. TRAI has also added safeguards to prevent the misuse of commercial headers and content templates.
Call-management apps must adhere to restrictions when handling calls from certain numbering series. They cannot completely block, filter, or label as spam calls from the 140xx, 1600xx, or 1601xx series.