Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea have now opposed the proposal by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to block mobile numbers flagged as potential spam by AI-based solutions. According to a report by Economic Times, the service providers argue that such a move could cause inconvenience to genuine users and also risk barring them from the network during to arbitrary or inadequately defined processes.

Current vs proposed rules

As per the report, presently the telcos act against suspected spammers only after receiving five unique complaints within 10 days. TRAI’s new proposal would enable disconnection if an AI system flags a number as potential spam for 10 consecutive days, even without formal complaints. Telco warn that this could lead to wrongful blocking and cumbersome reactivation processes involving fresh KYC verification.The telecom operators have also urged TRAI to conduct broader consultations before issuing directives. They believe that the regulator should instead focus more on the structural fixes which include allocating special numbering series for commercial communications and tightening accountability for telemarketers.

AI solutions already in use

The telecom operators have already voluntarily deployed AI0-based anti-spam systems, which have helped the companies in reducing spam complaints by alerting users before they answer any suspicious calls. However, operators stress that flagged calls are not always spam, and unilateral blocking based on AI data alone would be “technically incorrect.”TRAI officials have indicated they will consider telcos’ perspectives before finalizing the proposal. Meanwhile, state-run BSNL has yet to implement AI-based spam detection, highlighting the lack of uniformity across networks.

TRAI revamps DND and MySpeed apps to curb spam

TRAI recently announced the revamped versions of its citizen-centric mobile apps – TRAI DND and TRAI MySpeed – aimed at enabling consumers to actively curb spam communications and know service provider’s performance and submit feedback.India’s telecom sector today serves over 1.31 billion subscribers, including more than 1 billion broadband users. Despite billions of legitimate voice calls and SMS transactions every day, only a small fraction of spam incidents is formally reported. Through these revamped platforms, TRAI has improvised the technological tools that simplify reporting process and contribute to quality of service, in turn further empowering citizen.