Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is back again with new proposals that state the use of Blockchain technology to curb spam calls and messages. This move is to ensure that telemarketing messages are sent only to those who have subscribed to them, and that too by authorized entities. The proposed Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation 2018 will empower billions of subscribers to take control of their voice and text communications.
According to TRAI, twenty-three crore subscribers have registered themselves on the DND Registry since 2010. However, the problem still retained thanks to the unscrupulous elements that started obtaining customers’ consent or resorted to use of unregistered telemarketers that call or message from a ten-digit number. These fraud calls are on the rise in the recent times.
The proposed Blockchain or distributed ledger has proven useful where the objective is to cryptographically secure information and make it available only when it is needed to know basis. In fact, it will be the first instance anywhere in the world to use this technology at such a scale in the telecom sector. Blockchain will ensure two things non-repudiative and confidentiality, meaning only those authorized to access details will be able to access subscriber details and only when they need to deliver service.
Interestingly, the new technology-based norms will record all communication between subscribers and entities, and then will capture customer consent for information and authorized telemarketing agencies. TRAI said that the draft regulation issued today would be open for comments up to the 11th June 2018.