Mobile users unlikely to get relief from pesky calls, text messages soon, say telco executives

Kolkata: Mobile phone users are unlikely to get a respite from the menace of pesky commercial calls and text messages anytime soon as the majority of these come from unregistered telemarketers (UTMs) using personal mobile numbers that are almost impossible to monitor or bar, say senior telco executives.

According to industry estimates, the number of such UTMs across India is easily more than double the 250,000-odd authorised telemarketers registered on the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. Further, telcos say they could end up flouting customer privacy norms if they tried monitoring the calling patterns of individual users who had legally acquired personal mobile connections and were entitled to telecom services.