Trai extends pesky calls deadline to March 1

Mobile subscribers will have to wait longer to get some relief from telemarketing calls. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai ) has again extended the deadline by a month to March 1 for implementing the guidelines to curb telemarketing calls.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has allotted a new series '140' for telemarketers instead of the '70' series numbers recommended earlier by Trai. The DoT move has delayed the implementation process.

"On January 31, 2011, DoT has communicated a fresh numbering series beginning with the number '140' in place of '70' number series. Communicating the same to all the access providers and carrying out the required changes will require time," Trai said in a statement.

After allotment of the new series, service providers will have to make technical changes, including configuration of networks and putting in place filtering solutions, to stop unsolicited commercial calls.

"We are compelled to change the date of implementation to March 1," said Trai. Earlier, it had set a January 1 deadline for operators to implement the telemarketing norms, but later extended it to January 31.

According to the new timeline, customer preference registrations will begin from February 10. The registration of telemarketers started on January 15.

On December 1, Trai had issued a set of recommendations to curb unwanted commercial calls effective January 1, 2011. It had also suggested imposition of penalty up to Rs 2.5 lakh on erring telemarketing companies.

Earlier, the penalty amount was Rs 500-1,000. Trai had come out with a fresh set of recommendations because the earlier "Do Not Call Registry" system did not make a difference.