Symbol to flag telemarketing calls on your cell

You will soon get to know if a particular call on your mobile is from a telemarketer.

You will soon get to know if a particular call on your mobile is from a telemarketer. The telecom regulator is likely to ask service operators to prefix such calls with a symbol to indicate these are from a telemarketing company.

Sources said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will soon issue regulations that will make it mandatory for companies to inform subscribers of the unsolicited nature of telemarketing calls.

If it is not possible to ban such calls,the subscriber must have information that it is a telemarketing call,and the option to disconnect such a call, said an official.

On May 11,TRAI had issued a consultation paper on the regulation of unsolicited commercial communications. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjees frustration over one such call on Monday during an important meeting with Opposition leaders in Parliament prompted Telecom Minister

A Raja to write a letter to his Secretary to take quick action.

TRAI chairman J S Sarma today met senior officials from Tata Tele-Services Ltd (TTSL) and advised them to stop selling text messages in bulk to telemarketers who target millions of subscribers randomly. TTSL and Aircel are two of the biggest players in this business,industry sources said. While the total market for short messaging services (SMSs) is about Rs 300 crore,revenues from bulk telemarketing SMSs accounts for only a small portion.

Efforts by the regulator and the government to curb unsolicited calls by setting up a Do Not Call registry have had little success. Many subscribers find it cumbersome to list themselves in the DNC and while telemarketers are required to scrub DNC numbers before bulk SMSing,theres no way to check if they really do so.

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The regulator will conduct an open house on August 18 on shifting to a Do Call registry. Here,subscribers can choose to inform telemarketers about their willingness to accept calls by registering themselves in the Do Call list for a specified period.