The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has tightened its spam rules. It now allows telecom operators to act against suspected spammers even without a consumer complaint.
Under the amended rules, a first violation detected through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems can lead to a 15-day ban on outgoing services.
Repeat violations can result in a one-year disconnection of telecom resources.
Also Read: Truecaller Challenges TRAI Over Anti-Spam Rules as Caller ID Dispute Escalates in India
TRAI Sets Strict Timelines to Trace Suspected Spammers
The new measures are part of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026, which TRAI notified on Monday.
When an operator’s AI or machine learning system flags an incoming call as suspected spam, the operator must share the call details with the originating access provider within two hours.
The originating provider then has one business day to identify the sender’s KYC details and share them with other operators. Those operators must check whether the same sender used other connections on their networks during the previous 10 days.
If operators find five or more called line identification (CLI) numbers linked to the sender during those 10 days, they must take action.
The framework also requires operators to trace other connections linked to the sender, restart KYC checks and, where necessary, refer cases to law enforcement agencies.
Also Read: TRAI Steps Up Crackdown on Spam Calls, Tightens Rules for Telemarketers
First Violation Brings 15-Day Ban; Repeat Offenders Face One-Year Disconnection
For a first AI-detected violation, all outgoing services linked to the sender’s telecom resources will be blocked for 15 days. This is even if a particular resource was not used for the offending communication.
For subsequent violations, SIMs, PRI and SIP trunks linked to the sender can be disconnected for one year. The sender will also be blacklisted and barred from obtaining new telecom resources from any operator.
A blacklisted sender may retain one telephone number, but outgoing services on it will remain barred except for notified emergency outgoing services.
TRAI has also barred call-management apps from tagging, blocking or filtering calls from designated number series, including 1600 and 140, as well as numbers used by the Union government. Consumers can still block or filter calls on their own devices.
The amended rules introduce a charge of up to 5 paise per minute for application-to-person calls. Separately, consumers can send BLOCK PROMO to 1909 to stop promotional commercial communications across categories. Existing FULLY BLOCK preferences will be migrated within 15 days.
TRAI will implement the new spam rules in phases over 30 to 90 days. The key shift is from complaint-led action to network-level detection, putting greater responsibility on telecom operators to identify and trace suspected spam activity.
Samarjit Kaur is a journalist and communications professional covering technology & emerging digital trends. With a focus on clarity and context, she reports on developments shaping industries and governance. When not reporting, she chooses to plug-in and relax on her playlists and plan her next bucket-list trips!
