The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Relief from telemarketing calls welcomed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 24, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Relief from telemarketing calls welcomed

Karthik Subramanian

Consumer activists react to TRAI move to curb unsolicited commercial calls

CHENNAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) order on unsolicited telemarketing calls released on Monday was welcome, consumer activists said, while pointing out that it could have gone further.

They are happy the issue has been centrestaged, but have a few interesting solutions to curb the menace.

The TRAI regulation calls for the creation of a National Do Not Call (NDNC) registry. The database will contain phone numbers of subscribers who do not want to receive telemarketing calls. It will be a comprehensive list, with inputs from the telecom service provider's individual `do not disturb' registries. The companies have been maintaining them over the past year as a self-regulatory practice but only to curb their own marketing calls.

The proposed registry targets third-party telemarketers who call and send text messages to mobile as well as landline subscribers. Such calls have become a major irritant for phone users.

Several consumer groups and experts welcomed the announcement, while pointing out that the challenge would lie in enforcement. "It's definitely a good step, in the right direction," said Bharat Jairaj of Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG). "It rightly puts the bulk of the onus on the telecom service provider. But the only gap is the incomplete consumer redress system. Why is there no compensation payable for consumers who put up with the nonsense?" he asks.

Cyber law expert N. Vijayashankar said TRAI could have made `do not call' the default option. "Let telemarketers introduce incentives for subscribers to `opt in' to receive calls."

Tiruvallur District Consumer Information Centre convener T. Sadagopan said TRAI would have to keep the NDNC registry a `free-to-use' service. "All the good intentions would mean nothing if it is a paid-for service. There should not even be a registration fee."

The regulations are at: www.trai.gov.in

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