Indian telecom studying usage of Blockchain based solutions to curb unsolicited calls, SMS

Author: Jagdish Kumar, India
After the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed all the telecom operators in the country to use Blockchain based solutions for curbing curb unsolicited commercial communication (UCC), or pesky calls and SMSes, telecom companies have started working on it.
This comes after in July 2018, TRAI has asked telecom operators to adopt blockchain technology to ensure only registered telemarketers have access to phone databases and that user consent to receive such communication is explicitly recorded.
The regulator has asked telecom service providers to use the distributed ledger technology to control the flow of commercial communication on their networks in its Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018.
TRAI in its order said that new rules to quell pesky calls stated that telecom operators are required to deploy Blockchain-based technology to prevent unauthorized access of subscribers data, make system non-repudiative and enhance confidentiality.
Though many companies are finding it difficult to adopt the new technology for curbing pesky calls and SMSes, they are already in talks will vendors which has the technology to do so, as per the TRAI directions.
Speaking on this, a New Delhi based industry association of mobile service providers, telecom equipment, internet and broadband services providers, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) director general said that members of the association are currently looking at presentations from various vendors on their Blockchain technology-based solutions, and taking their perspective on the solution and its cost and approach to the whole issue.
As TRAI has asked the whole industry to implement it, COAI is working on a strategy, where every members of the association adopt the new technology, so this can be a success.
The official of COAI said that as we now have the technology in our reach, the most important thing is the implementation where all meet and pull everything together and get everybody under the same umbrella.
Looking at the opportunity in this sector, Tech Mahindra and Microsoft have decided to join to launch a Blockchain technology-based solution to curb the menace of pesky calls and SMSes as recommended by TRAI, which was reported by BlockAsia.io recently.
Image credit: coindelite.com
jagdish.id@blockasia.io
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Originally published at www.blockasia.io on Sep 2, 2018.
