In a bid to stop unwanted telemarketing SMS being routed through international operators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has issued new rules. It issued a direction to all for blocking the bulk international SMS that begins with alphanumeric combination.
Several telemarketers were routing SMS through the servers located at international destinations to beat the TRAI regulations on pesky calls and SMS. According to the regulator, it was observed that generally such SMSs originated from locations within Germany, Sweden, Nauru, Fiji, Cambodia, Bosnia, Albania, Grenada, the UK, Jersey, Sint Maarten, Tonga, Vanuatu, Namibia, Panama, Antigua and Barbuda.
These SMSs contain the headers which are alphanumeric or starting with +91 or numbers with international codes. “If any source or number from outside the country generates more than 200 SMS per hour with similar ‘signature', the same should not be delivered through the network,” the regulator said.
The regulator has asked operators to implement the new rule within 30 days.