Telemarketers, telcos spar over chaos as second phase of SMS regulation kicks in

The second phase implementation of SMS regulation by telecom companies has caused massive disruption in critical SMS services like OTPs from banks, e-commerce companies while Aadhaar authentication service has collapsed.

Meanwhile, operators have defended their system and called out lax adoption by companies who have failed to comply with regulatory standards, which is the cause of their SMS traffic being disrupted.

“Close to 50% traffic is getting dropped because of content scrubbing. Officials from India’s top banks including HDFC and SBI are extremely furious and dialing TRAI (telecom regulatory authority of India) to address the mess at the earliest,” said a top executive at a leading telemarketing firm.

A notice on the Aadhaar portal reads, "We are unable to reach authentication service to serve you OTP. Please try again later."

According to TRAI’s regulation on unsolicited commercial communication, telcos must verify every SMS content with a registered template before delivering it. The process, also known as content scrubbing, was activated on Monday at 0000 hours after multiple delays in the past caused due to lack of readiness in the industry.

Telecom operators say the onus lies on telemarketers and individual businesses to comply with the standards if they wish their services should continue.

“Hon’ble Delhi High Court has ordered speedy implementation of the regulation. We have done our part and activated due process of content scrubbing. Despite abundant time given to companies, if they are still cribbing about not being prepared, it is not telcos’ fault,” a senior telecom executive told ET.

In a bid to control SMS frauds, the blockchain-based solution deployed by telecom operators checks the header and content of every commercial SMS originating from a registered source, whereas unregistered SMS are simply blocked.

“Exactly what we feared is happening today..its a crazy situation so far. Even normal promotional messages are getting dropped by small changes in content like a full stop. Trai must intervene and address the situation at the earliest because if they won’t, ultimately RBI will,” another head of A2P SMS business said.