TRAI issued the The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2013, prescribing further measures to tighten the framework for controlling the menace of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC).
TRAI has taken a series of measures in the recent past for curbing the menace of UCC. It issued The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010 on 1st December 2010, which came into force from 27th September 2011. Subsequently, for addressing the operational issues and for tightening the regulatory framework, a number of amendments have been issued to the principal regulations besides issue of a number of directions.
The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2013 has been issued to further tighten the regulatory framework, especially relating to commercial communication from subscribers indulging in telemarketing activities, deliberately masquerading themselves, without registering as a telemarketer with TRAI. These subscribers indulge in such activities without paying promotional SMS charge or any other charges (or deposits) as may be payable by registered telemarketers. They also circumvent the procedures for telemarketing by registered telemarketers. Such subscribers indulge in sending unsolicited commercial communications to even customers registered in NCPR.
The salient features of the Regulations are as follows:
(i) In case of a valid UCC complaint, the originating Access provider shall disconnect all the telecom resources allotted to such subscriber, after due investigation. This provision comes into force with immediate effect.
(ii) The name and address of such subscriber shall be entered into a blacklist for a period of two years to be maintained separately for this purpose. Upon entry in the blacklist, all Access Providers shall disconnect the telecom resources provided by it to such subscriber within twenty four hours. No telecom resources will be allotted to such blacklisted subscriber by any Access Provider.This provision comes into force within 30 days from the date of publication in the Gazette.
The presently available complaint redressal system will be available to settle the grievance of the subscriber whose connection is disconnected.
The The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2013 have already been placed on TRAI™s website (www.trai.gov.in). For any further clarifications please contact Mr. A.Robert J. Ravi, Advisor (CA&QOS) on 011-23230404 or e-mail: advqos@trai.gov.in.
