The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has issued strict orders to the telecom companies (telcos) to start blocking all those SMSes that fail to comply with the new norms starting 1 April, 2021.
TRAI Temporarily Withdrew SMS Regulatory Norms
According to an ET Telecom report, the telecom regulator had earlier withdrawn the message scrubbing and blocking drive as it led to SMSes with key info such as OTPs and service activation links getting blocked.
Consequently, the regulator invoked a stay on the SMS regulations order and encouraged firms and businesses to register their SMS templates at short notice as this would benefit the end users at large.
Telcos to Penalise Defaulters
Telcos have now been directed to penalise the defaulters who have failed to comply with the new SMS norms as they have not registered new SMS templates even after repeated notices.
So, TRAI has taken the stern stance to force block any SMS that fails to meet the regulatory norms starting 1 April. This is done to ensure the privacy and safety of end users while preventing any instance of fraudulent activities or deprivation of their regulatory rights.
Telemarketers Oppose TRAI’s Regulatory Order
The telemarketers have, however, opposed TRAI’s order saying that it will lead to a disruption in SMS services as it will be very tedious to comply with a template for each of the billions of SMSes that are circulated on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, Shivtel Communications has filed a case opposing TRAI’s order in the Delhi High Court seeking its withdrawal. The company has argued that it has to process close to 1 lakh SMS templates on a daily basis, which will make it extremely difficult to register it on a one-time compliance basis. Delhi High Court is yet to respond to the lawsuit filed by Shivtel.
