The TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) traceability guidelines will be effective on December 1, 2024. With the number of mobile users in India rapidly growing, more people are becoming prone to cyber criminals. These guidelines are a huge move for the organisation to reduce online fraud and build a robust and safe ecosystem.
Earlier, there were some rumours that telecom subscribers in India may face delays in receiving messages and OTPs (One-Time-Password) after the guidelines come into effect. However, TRAI reassured the public with an update that there won’t be any delays in the delivery of messages and OTPs even after December 1.
The new rules from TRAI mandate tracking the origin of commercial messages and OTPs to prevent cyberattacks like phishing and enhance cyber security. All telcos, including Reliance Jio, BSNL, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone-Idea, will comply with these new guidelines, which TRAI issued in August.
Recently, TRAI has made huge efforts to combat the growing issue of cybercrime, which commonly involves calls and spam messages. The new rules allowing traceability will help telecom companies identify the source of bulk SMS traffic to prevent fraudulent messages.
TRAI’s traceability guidelines were first supposed to take effect on October 31. However, due to technical challenges, telecom service providers couldn’t establish tracking systems and requested a date extension. As a result, the guidelines will now take effect on December 1.
