Telemarketing and DLT Registration
We, at VINCULAR provide consultation on Telemarketing compliance management, such as, DLT registration, Bulk SMS registration on the DLT platform, advisory on Do Not Call (DND) regulations, and RBI regulations for telemarketers.
Telemarketing operations in India
As per the TCCCPR-2018 (guidelines on Telemarketing), a person or legal entity engaged in the activity of transmission or delivery of commercial communication or scrubbing or aggregation will be known as a “Telemarketer”. Companies selling products or services or carrying out service-based communication via message and call are considered “Telemarketing”.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is the governing authority that looks after all the telemarketing-related activities in India. In 2018, TRAI released new regulations known as Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR- 2018) to regulate the Telemarketing business in India.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is the governing authority that looks after all the telemarketing-related activities in India. In 2018, TRAI released new regulations known as Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR- 2018) to regulate the Telemarketing business in India.
Overview of UCC and TCCCPR-2018
Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC) are communications, made via voice calls or SMS, to subscribers without their consent or willingness. Apart from being a source of inconvenience, such communications also impinge on the privacy of individuals. To curb UCC, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notified the Telecom Unsolicited Commercial Communications Regulations (TUCCR), 2007 dated 5th June 2007, which put in place a framework for controlling UCC. These regulations were reviewed in the years 2010, 2011, and 2017 and TRAI released new regulations known as Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR-2010, TCCCPR- 2018).
The latest guideline is TCCCPR-2018 which needs to be followed by telemarketers and service providers for Telemarketing operations.
Registration: DLT registration for bulk SMS and calls
After the introduction of TCCCPR-2018 regulations from TRAI, Telemarketers must be registered on the DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) platform of an Indian telecom service provider (i.e. Airtel, Jio, Vi, etc.) according to TCCCPR 2018 regulations. It is mandatory for all entities/ companies that share communication messages with their customers/ new leads, such as OTP, verification codes, notifications, promotional messages, and so on, to be registered in the service provider DLT platform.
For calling services 140 series or any dedicated number series should be procured from the authorized telecom service provider in India.
Types of Registration for Telemarketers
The new telemarketing registration process is classified into two categories:
Principal Entity (PE): An Enterprise that is an Individual or a Company that wants to communicate with their customers using Bulk SMS Services and voice calls.
Telemarketer (TM): Any person or legal entity that directly collects SMS/voice traffic from enterprises/companies and sends SMS or makes voice calls to the end customers on behalf of the enterprise/company.
By identifying the respective category, the companies should register themself on the DLT platform under specified category.
Principal Entity (PE): An Enterprise that is an Individual or a Company that wants to communicate with their customers using Bulk SMS Services and voice calls.
Telemarketer (TM): Any person or legal entity that directly collects SMS/voice traffic from enterprises/companies and sends SMS or makes voice calls to the end customers on behalf of the enterprise/company.
By identifying the respective category, the companies should register themself on the DLT platform under specified category.
How Vincular can help
Vincular has a dedicated team of experts who look after all the directions and guidelines given by the TRAI and other authorities operating in India. We help companies to identify the respective requirement/business operation applicability under the Telemarketing category, support with DLT registration, consultation on TRAI/ RBI guidelines for loan recovery operations, DND calling, and so on.
FAQs
As per the TCCCPR (Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations) guidelines from TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), Telemarketer can be a person or legal entity engaged in the activity of transmission or delivery of commercial communication or scrubbing or aggregation.
As per the TCCCPR guidelines, commercial communication can be a voice call or message using telecommunication services, where the primary purpose is to inform about or advertise or solicit business for Goods or services; or
A supplier or prospective supplier of offered goods or services; or
A business or investment opportunity; or
A provider or prospective provider of such an opportunity
A supplier or prospective supplier of offered goods or services; or
A business or investment opportunity; or
A provider or prospective provider of such an opportunity
DLT is Distributed Ledger Technology, which is a blockchain registration system. As per the telemarketing guidelines from TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), every Indian entity engaged in telemarketing activity needs to register themselves under the respective TSP’s DLT platform.
Any commercial communication that is neither as per the consent nor as per registered preference(s) of the recipient falls under the UCC category. But it does not include:
Any service message or service voice call.
Any message or voice calls transmitted on the directions of the Central Government, the State Government, or bodies established under the Constitution when such communication is in the Public Interest.
Any service message or service voice call.
Any message or voice calls transmitted on the directions of the Central Government, the State Government, or bodies established under the Constitution when such communication is in the Public Interest.
CPRF is the facility established by an Access Provider, under relevant regulations, for the purpose of registration, modifications, or de-registration of the preference of its customers in respect of receipt of commercial communications.
As per the TCCCPR-2018, any voluntary permission given by the customer to the sender to receive commercial communication related to a specific purpose, product, or service is known as Consent.
As per TCCCPR-2018, a message triggered during a transaction performed by the Subscriber, also such message is sent within thirty minutes of the transaction being performed and is directly related to the ongoing service. For example banking transactions, delivery of OTP, purchase of goods or services, etc.
Type of Commercial communication message for which the sender has not taken any explicit consent from the intended Recipient to send such messages.
TRAI “Telecom Regulatory Authority of India” is the regulatory body that looks after Telemarketing operations in India.
