Pesky SMS: Trai says Rs 500 fine on first complaint

To curb the menace of unsolicited SMSes, Trai has proposed charging unregistered telemarketers a penalty of Rs 500 on first complaint and disconnection of telecom resources on repeat of rule violation.

In case of unwanted calls, the first complaint will invite warning, followed by Rs 500 fine and disconnection on the third instance of violation of regulatory norms, said sources.

These measures are a part of the draft “Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference (Tenth Amendment) Regulations, 2012”.

[caption id=“attachment_404850” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The paper said the operators should take an undertaking from transactional message sending entities that they would use only registered telemarketers for their promotional activities. AFP[/caption]

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The draft regulation proposes that operators take an undertaking from consumers, at the time of purchase, that the SIM purchased shall not be used for telemarketing purpose.

The draft also proposes to help consumers lodge complaints of such communication by sending an SMS to 1909, while asking telecom operators to inform subscribers through text messages at least twice a year against sending any commercial communication to others.

Besides the draft regulations, Trai also issued a consultation paper on review of measures taken for curbing UCC prescribing further measures.

The consultation paper calls for providers to put in place a mechanism to block the delivery of unsolicited SMS with similar signatures from the source which sends more than a specified number of promotional SMS per hour.

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The paper said the operators should take an undertaking from transactional message sending entities that they would use only registered telemarketers for their promotional activities.

Also, it proposes disconnection of resources of entities for whom the promotion is being carried out after ten violations.

Trai has asked the stakeholders to send their comments on the regulations and consultation paper by August 18, 2012.

PTI