DoT and TRAI to enhance telecom services with new measures

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are taking significant steps to enhance the security and quality of telecom services. To combat spam and cyber fraud, TRAI has implemented measures to disconnect and blacklist entities involved in bulk spam operations, resulting in the removal of over 3.5 lakh spam numbers and the blacklisting of 50 entities.

Additionally, the DoT’s Sanchar Saathi platform allows citizens of India to report suspicious activity, leading to the disconnection of over one crore fraudulent connections and the blocking of 2.27 lakh handsets involved in cybercrime. Concurrently, TRAI has updated its Quality of Service (QoS) regulations to enforce stricter benchmarks for network performance metrics such as call drop rates, packet drop rates, and latency. Effective 1 October 2024, these regulations will introduce monthly monitoring from April 2025, enhancing oversight and accountability to improve network quality.

DoT and TRAI are also implementing proactive measures to tackle the issue of unregistered telemarketers. For that, TRAI is considering immediate service suspensions for telemarketers not registered, based on a predefined threshold of complaints, and is working on proactive detection of suspected spammers.

These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to create a more secure and user-friendly telecom environment. Through these collaborative efforts, the DoT and TRAI ensure ongoing enhancements in telecom services, infrastructure, and quality assurance, aiming to provide users with a more reliable and customer-centric experience.