No more OTPs after November 1? Indian telecom regulator’s directive causes concern

If reports are to be believed, telecommunication companies in India have expressed concerns over the new rules of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which have been framed for mandating the traceability of transactional and service messages sent by principal entities (PEs) such as banks, e-commerce platforms and other financial institutions.

These rules are set to take effect from November 1. A report by The Times of India (TOI) on Saturday (Oct 26) said that the rules could lead to significant disruptions in the delivery of transactional and service messages.

The report said that as per the TRAI’s mandate, telecom operators must ensure that messages from PEs to recipients are traceable starting from November 1. 

Messages with undefined or mismatched telemarketer chains should be rejected. This means that messages with entirely undefined chains must be blocked or not delivered to the customers, the report added.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which includes telecom giants such as Airtel, Vodafone, and Reliance Jio, approached the TRAI seeking relaxations in the traceability mandate.

A report by the Economic Times said telecom operators warned that messages containing One-Time Passwords (OTPs) and other critical details might not reach recipients, as telemarketers and PEs have yet to implement the important technical solutions.

The above development came days after the TRAI floated a discussion paper on terms and conditions of network authorisations to be granted under the Telecom Act, 2023.

A report by the news agency PTI on Tuesday said that the DoT (Department of Telecommunications) had approached TRAI through a letter on July 26 asking it to provide recommendations on terms and conditions, including fees or charges, for authorisation to establish, operate, maintain or expand the telecommunication network as per the provisions of the Telecommunications Act, 2023.

Subsequently, through another letter dated October 17, DoT requested TRAI to consider an authorisation for a satellite communication network under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.

(With inputs from agencies)