Pesky SMSes blocked,messages capped at 100 pages a day

“A study by a private telecom provider showed that only about 70,000 of their 140 million customers sent more than 100 SMSes per day. That’s only about 0.5 per cent,” Sarma said.

The chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) conceded that the authority has not carried out a study to verify the numbers,but insisted that a “majority” of people send only about 20-30 SMSes per day.

Besides,Sarma said,“sending messages is not a problem anymore. There are so many applications by which one can get in touch with others”,referring to apps provided by smartphones.

The regulator has exempted airlines and banks from the 100-page cap. “We realised that the case of airline companies was a genuine one. If others want to be exempted in a similar fashion,they should write to us. We will exempt based on sectors and categories,” Sarma said.

However,“We are not contemplating exemptions for individuals. Maybe we can exempt a category of people,journalists,for instance,if it can be proved that they need to send more than a 100 SMSes per day. But there is still a risk: what if a reporter uses the privilege for telemarketing?”

The signs of imminent change were visible on Monday evening. Emails about an “Important Notice” regarding TRAI regulations landed in almost every inbox that has seen at least one online monetary transaction.

Online store Flipkart was one of the senders. After informing customers that there would be no more SMS alerts,the email said: “We will continue to send you email notifications,so you need not worry about not receiving SMS alerts. However,since a lot of the courier and shipment related communication happens via SMS,it is advisable that you subscribe to partial DND.”

In a similar email,online booking agent MakeMyTrip advised customers to subscribe to ‘Tourism and Leisure’. A top official of the portal,however,said they should have been exempt.

“In a way,it’s a good thing that pesky SMSes will go away from tomorrow,but TRAI has not recognised the difference between transactional messages and unsolicited SMSes. Our customer experience will be hit,” said Rajnish Kapur,chief innovation and customer experience officer at MakeMyTrip.

“We have approached TRAI through NASSCOM for exemption for customer-initiated calls. It’s a poorly conceived idea. How will I intimate customers about the status of transactions?” Kapur said.

But no one denies the bright side. Innumerable real estate companies and agents will no longer peddle unbuilt flats on your mobile phone on a Saturday night.