The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has declared that all telecom operators must now add an id tag to any bulk A2P texts from their message centers. Now, if a mobile phone owner receives an unsolicited text and complains about it, the TRAI will be able to trace down exactly where it came from.
Previously, the TRAI had no control over bulk commercial text messages. Now complaints can be made to the National Do Not Call (NDNC) registry, a government service which helps to bar spam calls and texts.The id tag on A2P SMS will leave a trail, so the telecom authorities can find senders of spam and take action.
What we think?
I was initially concerned about too much control being exerted over SMS. The first thing I though was “uh oh, next thing TRAI will be scanning all privately sent texts as well”. But that’s a massive over-reaction. That there was NO accountability for bulk commercial texts previously is a huge problem. Given the prevalence of mobile use in India it’s something that has to be taken in hand. I must check with the regulatory bodies here in Ireland and find out what the situation is with this here. Text messaging is one of the only two reliable services available to mobile owners, we can’t let that channel be abused.
