TRAI's Crackdown on Spam Calls Intensifies: 1.83 Lakh Telecom Resources Blocked in Three Months
India's telecom regulator is stepping up its war against spam callers.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has taken action against more than 1.83 lakh telecom resources and blacklisted 263 bulk senders during the first quarter of FY27 as part of an aggressive crackdown on unsolicited commercial communications (UCC), commonly known as spam calls and promotional messages.
The action follows a surge in consumer complaints about unwanted calls and SMSes.
Between April and June 2026, telecom operators received 1.085 million complaints related to spam communications. Of these, over 5.53 lakh were found to be actionable.
As part of the enforcement drive, 1,37,053 telecom resources were barred for 15 days after their first violation, while repeat offenders were disconnected for one year. TRAI also blocked 2,873 SMS headers and blacklisted 263 senders for a year.
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The regulator's action comes against the backdrop of an enormous volume of telecom traffic. During the quarter, Indian networks carried more than 730 billion calls and 691 billion SMS messages.
Artificial intelligence has also become a key weapon in TRAI's anti-spam campaign.
According to the regulator, AI-powered systems deployed by telecom operators flagged 22.99 billion incoming calls and 1.44 billion SMS messages as suspected spam during the quarter by analysing calling patterns and identifying suspicious activity.
Since June 23, telecom operators have also begun issuing warning notifications to suspected spammers, with more than 2.43 lakh alerts sent so far.
Consumer participation continues to play a crucial role in the crackdown. Nearly 89% of all spam complaints were lodged through the TRAI DND App, which allows users to report spam calls, register Do Not Disturb (DND) preferences and manage promotional communication settings.
However, TRAI noted that over 1.12 billion mobile subscribers have still not registered any DND preference, leaving them open to promotional calls and messages from registered telemarketers.
The regulator said the latest enforcement measures are aimed at making it easier for consumers to identify spam communications, strengthening action against repeat offenders and reducing the flood of unwanted calls and messages reaching mobile users.
(With inputs from ANI)