TRAI Released the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2013

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2013 in the last week of May 2013. The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2013 prescribes further measures to tighten the framework for controlling Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC).

In the recent past too, TRAI issued various measures for curbing UCC. The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010 was also issued on 1 December 2010 and came into force on 27 September 2011. In order to address the operational issues as well as for tightening the regulatory framework, various amendments have also been issued apart from various directions.

Purpose of issuing The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2013

The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Twelfth Amendment) Regulations, 2013 has been issued to tighten the grip of regulatory framework, especially relating to commercial communication from subscribers indulging in telemarketing activities, deliberately masking themselves without registering as telemarketer with TRAI.

The subscribers indulge in the activities like these without making payment of promotional SMS charge or the other kind of charges or deposits which should be paid by the registered telemarketers.

These subscribers also evade the procedures for telemarketing by registered telemarketers. The subscribers like these indulge in sending unsolicited commercial communications to the customers who are even registered in NCPR.

Features of the Regulation

In case there is any valid UCC complaint, the originating Access provider will be liable to disconnect all the telecom resources allotted to such subscriber, after making necessary investigations. This provision will come into effect with immediate effect.

The name as well as address of the subscriber like this will be entered into the blacklist for two years tenure and this record will be maintained separately for this purpose. Once the subscriber enters into the blacklist, all the Access Providers will disconnect the telecom resources provided by it to such subscriber within twenty four hours. This provision of the regulation will come into effect within one month from the publication of the regulation in Gazette.

In order to settle the grievance of the subscriber whose connections are disconnected, the present redressal system will help.