Airtel and TRAI Push for Cross-Sector Signal Sharing to Combat Spam
India's telecom regulator (TRAI) and operator Airtel are advocating for enhanced collaboration and information sharing between digital platforms to combat spam and fraud. The focus is on sharing signal detection data across sectors.
India's Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) and major telecom operator Airtel are pushing for improved cooperation and data sharing across different digital platforms and sectors. This initiative aims to strengthen the fight against increasing spam and online fraud.
Airtel highlighted that current systems lack visibility into digital messaging platforms, allowing fraud to spread across domains. TRAI emphasizes that responsibility for fraud prevention must be shared across sectors, requiring collaboration between telcos, Over-The-Top (OTT) players, and banking institutions.
TRAI has established a Joint Committee of Regulators (JoCR), involving key government bodies such as the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The committee's objective is to develop processes for regular, real-time intelligence sharing among these entities.
Airtel also proposes shifting spam control towards the receiver's end, granting operators flexibility to manage spam targeting their subscribers. The company has developed an AI-powered scoring system that analyzes over 250 parameters to identify suspicious calls and messages, leading to the flagging of billions of potential fraud attempts.