Private telecom operators have started rejecting commercial messages with undefined or mismatched telemarketer (TM) chains, in compliance with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) directive to curb spam and fraudulent communications.

Extensive groundwork has been laid out to ensure a smooth transition, prioritising minimal disturbance to consumers, industry executives said.

Starting December 11, the blocking mechanism will be fully operational. Any message failing to align with a registered TM chain will be rejected. This mandate, outlined in Trai’s August 20 directive, is part of broader efforts to create safer and more transparent communication networks.

“From December 11, 2024, the blocking mode will be fully enforced,” said S.P. Kochhar, director-general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) in a release.

The COAI represents telecom players such as Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea.

A critical component of the directive involves “whitelisting” messages containing URLs, OTT links, or similar content to prevent online scams. This mechanism requires senders to pre-register detailed information about their URLs with telecom operators. Messages are cross-verified against the DLT platform; only those matching the registered data are allowed.