According to a recent poll, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is making strides in eliminating spam calls, but the rise of robocalls raises fresh concerns. In August, the TRAI took stronger measures to prevent nuisance calls, including blacklisting 50 businesses and disconnecting 2.75 lakh phone numbers.
Following the adoption of these protections, customer complaints about spam calls fell by 20%, from 1.89 lakh in August to 1.51 lakh in October 2024. The telecom regulator ordered all providers to ban promotional calls from unlicensed telemarketers and warned violators of harsh penalties, including service disconnection for up to two years.
LocalCircles conducted a survey of over 14,000 mobile users from 309 districts in India and discovered that 27% of respondents reported fewer nuisance calls. However, just 9% reported a considerable drop, with many seeing an increase in robocalls within the same period. This shows that some telemarketers are using automated techniques to skirt the new laws.
To complement these efforts, Bharti Airtel has launched an artificial intelligence-based spam detection platform that detects suspected spam calls and messages in real-time.
Despite these advances, experts believe that more must be done to address the rise of robocalls. The survey results indicate that TRAI’s actions are beginning to have an impact, but continued enforcement and inventive solutions will be required to achieve long-term success.
LocalCircles, which has been monitoring spam calls since 2018, plans to continue monitoring the situation and expressing concerns with regulators for additional action.