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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) mandate to ‘whitelist’ content in commercial messages came into effect on Tuesday (October 1), resulting in a 15-20 per cent reduction in message traffic, according to a report by The Economic Times.
According to an official, the traffic decline was expected because not all entities had their URLs whitelisted. The official also mentioned that there were no major issues from stakeholders, including banks, and that everything was progressing smoothly despite the drop.
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Understanding whitelisting
Whitelisting requires entities sending commercial messages to provide telcos with details such as URLs, OTT links, and APKs (Android application packages). Telcos then input this information into their blockchain-based Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. If the information matches, the message is delivered; otherwise, it is blocked.Â
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The report quoted an official as saying that many entities refrained from sending messages where URLs were not whitelisted, as these would have been blocked by telecom operators.
Progress in whitelisting process
Entities are currently working on whitelisting their URLs, and the process is expected to smoothen in the coming days, the business-daily added.
To minimise disruptions, Trai clarified that entities are only required to whitelist the static portion of URLs, not the dynamic parts. Telcos have also configured their DLT platforms to read the static portion of URLs to ensure message delivery.
As per the Trai mandate effective October 1, all commercial messages containing URLs, OTT links, and APKs must be whitelisted. Messages that are not verified will be blocked by telecom operators. This directive follows Trai’s decision to extend the whitelisting deadline by one month, from September 1 to October 1, to ensure smooth implementation.
Lessons from past disruptions
In March 2021, mobile users experienced widespread outages when the DLT platform was first introduced, leading to the blocking of commercial messages that lacked whitelisted headers and templates. Following that, all entities registered their headers and templates with telecom operators, mitigating future disruptions.
In addition to message whitelisting, Trai mandated telecom operators to migrate telemarketing calls that use the 140 series to the DLT platform by September 30, improving monitoring and control.
From November 1, 2024, Trai will require full traceability of commercial messages from sender to recipient. The regulator stated that any message with an undefined or mismatched telemarketer chain would be rejected.
Will it be effective in fighting spam and fraud?
This initiative is part of a broader effort to combat spam and phishing attacks, with Trai aiming to vet all commercial messages before they reach consumers.
Industry data suggests that 1.5-1.7 billion commercial messages are sent in India daily, totalling approximately 55 billion per month. Only registered principal entities are authorised to send promotional and marketing messages to consumers as per Trai’s guidelines. Telcos have also been instructed to move all commercial messaging, including one-time passwords and account balance updates, to the blockchain-based DLT platform.
First Published: Oct 02 2024 | 2:11 PM IST
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