Will Jio, Vi, Airtel, BSNL Users Not Receive OTPs After November 30 As TRAI Deadline Kicks In From December 1? Regulator Clarifies

New Delhi: A section of the media had reported that telecom subscribers of Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, BSNL, Airtel may stop receiving OTPs or get delayed OTPs after November 30 because of the TRAI deadline on message traceability that kicks in from December 1.

Responding to news reports, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has said that the news is not correct. In its official X (formerly Twtter) handle, the regulator has said, "This is factually incorrect. TRAI has mandated the Access Providers to ensure message traceability. It will not delay delivery of any message. "

https://t.co/7uemnOtVd8

This is factually incorrect. TRAI has mandated the Access Providers to ensure message traceability. It will not delay delivery of any message. @the_hindu — TRAI (@TRAI) November 28, 2024

On August 20, TRAI had issued directives to access providers to curb misuse, fraud through messaging. Among the directives was regulation on curb dubious OTPs for which TRAI had asked telecom companies to provide message traceability. TRAI had mandated that the trail of all messages from senders to recipients must be traceable, the deadline of which was set for November 30, 2024. Any message with an undefined or mismatched telemarketer chain will be rejected.

TRAI had also mandated all access service providers to migrate telemarketing calls starting with 140 series to the online DLT platform by September 30, 2024, for better monitoring and control.

Effective September 1, 2024, all access service providers are prohibited from transmitting messages containing URLs, APKs, OTT links, or call-back numbers that are not whitelisted by the senders.