The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has cleared confusion over its controversial move to restrict SMSes to 100 per day per SIM for all subscribers. The telecom regulator said that the 100 SMS per day cap does not apply on several service providers such as dealers of telecom operators, e-ticketing agencies and social networking sites. The SMS restriction comes into effect from today.
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“… Hereby directs all access providers to exclude the following persons from the limit of one hundred SMS per day per SIM — dealers of the telecom service providers and DTH operators for sending request for electronic recharge on mobile numbers,” TRAI says in a statement.
The clarification from the regulator comes in the wake of concerns raised by telecom operators and COAI on restricting the number of SMS to 100 per day.
Earlier, the TRAI had announced several new recommendations to prevent pesky calls and text messages from September 27. The regulatory body asked the telecom operators not to allow transmission of more than 100 SMS per day per SIM.
Thr TRAI said that the restriction, however, is not applicable on e-ticketing agencies for responding to e-ticket bookings/inquiries made by its customers, SMS subscription to social networking sites such as Facebook and Google for activities relating to users’ accounts, based on verifiable option; and directory service providers such as Justdial, Zatse, Callezee, Getit and Askme. Moreover, the SMS cap is also not applicable on “blackout days” (festival days).
In case of post-paid subscribers, the telecom operators have not been asked not to allow more than 3,000 per SIM per month. “The access provider shall, before excluding the persons, obtain an undertaking from such person that he shall not use the said facility in any manner for sending commercial communication,” adds the TRAI.
The TRAI has given subscribers an option to choose “Fully Blocked” category and “Partial Blocked” category, under which subscribers are allowed to receive SMS from certain categories. Subscribers can also register with the National Customer Preference Registry, previously known as “National Do Not Call Registry”, by dialing toll free number 1909. The service is available via SMS as well.
According to TOI, the access providers have been asked to allocate “140” number series from fixed line network to all telemarketers. The TRAI regulation also includes a fine ranging from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 250,000 for companies not adhering to the restrictions. The companies found persistently breaching the regulation would be blacklisted for two years.