Don’t ban telemarketing, plead GSM operators

GSM (global system of mobile communications) operators have told the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that telemarketing should not be banned.

Rather, a ‘telemarketer-oriented solution’ should be provided for a “subscriber to stop unwanted commercial communications to her or his telephone”, they have pointed out through a letter written by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents the GSM firms.

While favouring a “specific legislation” to address the issue of unsolicited commercial communication, cellphone operators have suggested a “graded form” of penalty for those violating the `do-not-call’ or `do-not-disturb’ clause offered by various service providers and telemarketers.

The GSM players have argued that service providers are merely intermediaries, “who carry these calls that are originated by other companiesthird parties.”

“So,” they said, “there is no method available to them to verifydistinguish from the millions of calls passing through their network, whether a particular call is a unsolicited commercial or not”.

On whether measures by the Reserve Bank of India, banks or other agencies have been effective in reducing the number of unsolicited calls and messages, COAI said the efforts “to curb unsolicited commercial communications are not visible on the ground”.

Cellphone players also believe that “service related communications of a service provider are not in the nature of unsolicited commercial communications”.

According to them, such communication is required to be undertaken by service providers “for his business and commercial purposes, which includes informing subscribers about their pending bill payments, changes in any items of tariff plans, new tariff plans being offered etc.”

However, they have stated that any subscriber can access the ‘do-not-call’ or `do-not-disturb’ facility of a service provider, “and choose not be called”.

COAI represents GSM firms like Bharti Airtel, Hutch-Essar, Idea Cellular, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), and Aircel.

The COAI letter was in response to a consultation paper floated by Trai last month on telemarketing and unsolicited calls.

Trai had sought industry views on the options of blocking unsolicited commercial communication. After listing the various methods of restricting the telemarketing menace, the regulator had proposed to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for a “comprehensive amendment in the Trai Act to strengthen powers of the Authority” to impose penalty on those who violate norms on telemarketing.