New Delhi, 13 November (H.S.): The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has barred or disconnected more than 1.24 lakh telecom resources for violations related to unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) between July and September. During this period, 1,10,325 telecom resources belonging to first-time violators were barred for 15 days, while connections associated with 13,777 repeat offenders were disconnected for one year. In addition, 374 senders were blacklisted for one year and 3,725 SMS headers were blocked.

According to TRAI's report for the second quarter of the financial year 2026-27, released on Friday, a total of 15.29 lakh complaints regarding UCC were registered during the period, of which action was taken on 7.23 lakh complaints. During the quarter, 714.01 billion calls were made and 702.28 billion SMS messages were sent across the country's telecom networks. The number of UCC complaints stood at approximately 2.14 per million calls. As of September 30, 2026, India's total telecom subscriber base stood at 134.9 crore.

Of the 15.29 lakh UCC complaints received between July and September, 14.21 lakh were submitted through TRAI's Do Not Disturb (DND) app, accounting for 92.9 per cent of the total. By September 30, the app had been downloaded 42.36 lakh times. During the quarter, 22.449 crore subscribers had registered their communication preferences in the DND Registry, representing 16.64 per cent of the country's total telecom subscriber base. More than 112 crore subscribers had not yet registered their preferences. Consumers can register their preferences through the DND app, their telecom service provider's website or app, or by calling or sending an SMS to 1909.

The 140 number series has been designated for promotional calls, while the 1600 series is allocated for calls relating to banking, financial services, insurance and government citizen services. The 1601 series has been earmarked for utility, logistics and delivery services. During the quarter, 15.27 billion promotional calls were made through the 140 series, of which 1.70 billion were blocked. Registered senders and telemarketers sent 660.71 billion commercial SMS messages, of which 11.09 billion were blocked. A total of 1.27 billion calls were made through the 1600 series.

Artificial intelligence-based systems deployed by telecom service providers identified 18.28 billion calls and 1.62 billion SMS messages as suspected spam during the period. A total of 45.9 lakh warning notifications were sent to suspected senders. In addition, 34,025 senders underwent electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) verification, while 9,977 connections were disconnected after failing the verification process.

To raise awareness about the DND app, TRAI conducted campaigns through 132 FM radio channels, 15 All India Radio FM channels, 23 private television channels, two Doordarshan channels and 97 newspapers. A DND Reel Challenge was also organised on the MyGov portal. Around 31,000 people participated in 322 awareness programmes conducted across the country. In addition, more than three billion SMS messages were sent to educate consumers about the initiative.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar