Trai had come out with recommendations, ‘The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010′ to curb the menace of pesky calls and SMSes. However the implementation of these guidelines was delayed for more than 6 months due to various reasons. One of the reasons is the allocation of exclusive number series for telemarketing calls.
As per the guidelines issued by TRAI, a telemarketer is liable to pay Rs 2.50 lakhs if they make an unsolicited call to a customer who is registered under the national customer preference register. There are two categories of such customers under this register. One is a fully blocked category and the other is partially blocked category. The latter category will continue to receive telemarketing calls in the categories chosen by them.
As directed by TRAI, the Department of Telecom has already allocated a series beginning with 140 to mobile services. But a separate series for landline numbers has not been allocated yet. It is expected that this series will be finalized within a month.
There are several technical issues in allocating a number series for landlines. A landline call is now identified by STD code followed by the landline number. If another series is issued for telemarketing it will impact the current numbering system, as it will add 3 more digit to the current 10 digits. It may require installation or modification of existing equipments in BSNL and MTNL exchanges.
It will also pose a security risk, as it will be difficult to track the calls by the security agencies if the STD code is omitted
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