Mint Explainer: Why Trai’s anti-spam measures raised misplaced concerns about delayed OTPs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has clarified that the problem will not arise. On Saturday, he extended the December 1 deadline to implement the measure until December 11. Will OTPs still be affected? Mint explain.

What steps has the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India taken to combat spam messages?

In August, Trai demanded that all message trails be traceable from November 1, 2024. The move aims to strengthen accountability by tracking the origin of messages. To enable technical upgrades and declarations from principal entities (PEs) and telemarketers (TMs), Trai has given them until November 30.

PEs are entities that send commercial messages to telecommunications subscribers and include banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, trading companies and businesses.

On Saturday, Trai extended this deadline to December 10. This means that from December 11, traceability requirements come into force. Apart from telecom companies, Trai works with central and state government ministries, as well as entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority. and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to raise awareness.

Will tracking disrupt non-spam messages?

Trai clarified that message tracking is not intended to disrupt non-spam messages. The main goal is to improve the ability to track and block spam. While there may be some initial issues as service providers adjust to the new regulations, Trai assured that the mandate would not cause delays in message delivery or disrupt timely receipt OTPs.

Why is there concern about OTPs not being delivered?

While a typical Indian consumer receives a handful of text messages or SMS messages every day, they are bound to receive at least one OTP message per day. India has over a billion mobile users, which translates to at least a billion OTPs sent on an average every day.

OTP is required as part of two-factor authentication for safer financial transactions. The method is also used for non-financial transactions, meaning the number of OTPs sent daily could exceed 1 billion.

Telecom companies estimate this number to be between 1.6 and 1.7 billion OTP per day.

If the entities sending OTPs or the telecom operators providing the service do not adhere to Trai’s rules for message traceability, the delivery of OTPs may be affected.

Have telecommunications operators or entities expressed concerns regarding the implementation of this measure?

Telecom operators have declared themselves ready to implement tools to ensure the traceability of messages.

However, some PEs and TMs have not yet registered their full chain on the distributed ledger technology platform. Messages including OTPs sent by these unregistered PEs and TMs may experience delivery delays or interruptions.

According to Trai data, over 27,000 PEs have already registered their channels with telcos and more registrations are underway. Telecom operators have sent and continue to send warnings to PEs and TMs that have not yet implemented the changes.

Has there been an improvement in spam call volumes after TRAI’s intervention?

TRAI said in a statement last month that the number of complaints against unregistered senders, as reported by telecom companies, declined by 13% to 1.63 lakh in September 2024 and by 20% to 1.51 lakh in October 2024 compared to 1.89 lakh in August 2024. It also disconnected 275,000 people. phone numbers and services blocked to 50 entities as part of a crackdown on annoying callers and unregistered MTs.

According to private consumer research firm LocalCircles, which surveyed more than 14,000 responses from mobile subscribers across 309 districts across India last month, 27% confirmed a reduction in annoying calls.