Much to the discomfort of the telecom operators who are actively involved in the telemarketing business, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday said its new regulations mandate that no commercial communication, even for unregistered subscribers, should be sent between 9.00 pm and 9.00 am beginning January 1, 2011.
Unlike the previous regulations which provided only for a 'Do Not Call Registry', the new regulations provide a wider choice to customers. The subscriber may choose to be under the 'Fully Blocked' category, which is similar to the 'Do Not Call Registry'. The user can also choose the 'Partially Blocked' category, in which case he will receive SMS in the categories chosen by him.
To help unregistered subscribers identify commercial calls, telemarketers will be issued a different set of numbers starting with '70'.
The new set of regulations will also expedite the registration process for users. Subscribers' registration will be effective within seven days of registration, unlike in the past when it used to take 45 days. The subscribers can register by calling 1909 or sending an SMS to 1909. Subscribers at present on the 'National Do Not Call Registry' will continue to be registered under the 'Fully Blocked' category and need no re-registration.
The procedure for registration of telemarketers with Trai has also been simplified.
The regulations also provide for an aggrieved subscriber to register a complaint with the service provider who is required to take appropriate action and inform the customer of the action taken within seven days.
However, transactional messages, which typically include messages from banks, insurance companies or telecom service providers giving information relating to their customers accounts, or from airlines, railways to their passengers regarding flight, train schedules are out of the ambit of the new regulations.
Transactional messages will however, be only in the form of SMS and that too restricted to relevant information. Promotional content in transactional messages will not be permitted, according to the new Trai regulations.
In case of violations, as per the revised guidelines, the telemarketers would have to pay a fine of Rs 25,000 for the first offence, which would go up to Rs 2.5 lakh if the telemarketing companies continue to violate the norms and can be blacklisted.
Trai has identified seven categories -- real estate, education, banking, financial products, automobiles, communication, entertainment, health, consumer goods, leisure and tourism.
Unsolicited commercial calls and SMSs is a major issue of concern for telecom subscribers and has become an irritant for mobile phone users across the country. This has resulted in large number of complaints.
On August 12 this year, Trai had organised an open house discussion on the issue with various stake holders. However, telecom operators virtually hijacked and sabotaged the discussions, leaving no chance for consumers to put across their views.
Despite the new regulations, subscribers are not very hopeful that Trai's initiatives will deter tele- marketers.
"I don't think the Trai's regulations will stop the menace of pesky calls and SMS. Can you believe that Trai will take action against operators or tele- marketers for violations? Subscribers are not heard now and they will continue to be ignored," said Colonel (retd) S. N. Aggarwal, a Delhi- based consumer activist.
According to telecom analyst Dilip Sahay the IT Amendment Act 2008 does not have provisions to deal with telemarketers.
"Telemarketing and selfregulation do not go together," he stated.
Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) and other operators who have been resisting derailing telemarketing business have welcomed Trai's initiatives. " But we would urge Trai to extend the regulations for voice calls also," TTSL spokesperson said.
Courtesy: Mail Today
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