Telcos Want Commercial Calls Out of Do-Not-Call Registry

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Telcos Want Commercial Calls Out of Do-Not-Call Registry

1/1/2007

Times News Network (India)

If telecom companies have their way, they will continue to trouble you with unsolicited commercial calls (UCC) even after the ‘Do-Not-Call’ (DNC) registry comes into effect in mid-2007.

Telecom operators have written to regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) demanding that all “communication undertaken by the service provider with his subscriber for his business and commercial purposes be exempted from UCC”. UCC includes telemarketing calls, SMS and other commercial or marketing messages. A section of the industry has demanded that calls to past and prospective customers should also be allowed.

Trai had initiated a consultation towards creating a do-not-call registry last month, stating that UCC “disturbed a large number of subscribers by forcing them to respond to their telephones, thus invading their privacy”.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the GSM body, in their communication to Trai over this issue, said: “There should be an exemption list published by the authority, which excludes certain types of communications from the purview of the definition of UCC”.

According to COAI, the exemption list must include all service-related communication undertaken by the service provider for business and commercial purposes. For instance, information to the customer of his pending dues and new tariff plans being offered, COAI said.

Justifying their demand, COAI pointed out that this was in line with the Trai mandate that consumers be kept informed about changes in any item of tariff, credit limit and provision of any chargeable value added service.

Going a step further, the Association of Unified Service Providers of India (Auspi), the body representing CDMA players, said that calls made to subscribers that have quit the service provider over the last 18 months also be placed in the exempted categories.

Interestingly, Auspi has also demanded that calls made to prospective customers — those subscribers who had enquired about product or services in the last three months — be permitted even to those who have registered with the DNC.

“The exempted category of calls should be suitably incorporated in the definition (of UCC). This exempted category mentioned is also part of Do Not Call Registry Act of Australia and Telemarketing Rules of USA,” Auspi stated.

Apart from the industry bodies representing operators on both technological platforms, operators including Bharti Airtel, MTNL and Tata Teleservices have also written to Trai requesting that the above-mentioned changes be incorporated to the definition of UCC.