Mobile blues?

New Delhi, Feb. 18: Mobile operators have told the telecom regulator they cannot possibly stop calls from unregistered telemarketers and must not be punished for these companies’ offence.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had proposed a Rs 20,000 fine on mobile operators for every unsolicited marketing call or text message sent through their network.

But the operators say they can only monitor telemarketers who have registered themselves with the telecom department for the national do-not-call (NDNC) registry.

“It is impossible for the service providers to exercise control over small and unorganised telemarketers, who have neither registered with the department of telecom nor have applied for registration with the telecom operators,” said T.V. Ramachandran, director-general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, which represents the GSM industry.

The do-not-call registry, which became operational last September 5, tries to ensure that unsolicited telemarketing calls are not made to mobile or landline numbers registered with it.

Trai estimates that only a third of the country’s 75,000 telemarketers have registered with the telecom department. In the absence of any mechanism to police unregistered telemarketing firms, many subscribers on the do-not-call registry continue to be badgered by unwanted calls selling bank loans, credit cards or insurance products.

But telecom companies say the blame must not be shifted to them.

“Service providers are mere carriers of messages, and penalising them would not only be unfair but also be against the spirit of cooperation that is the basis of unsolicited commercial call regulation,” said Dilip Sahay of the Association of Unified Service Providers of India, which represents CDMA players.

Tata Teleservices recommended punishment for the errant telemarketers. A spokesperson said: “We believe that a service provider cannot be penalised for its unintentional ignorance of a customer being an unregistered telemarketer. However, the subscriber who has not declared that he is a telemarketer but actually is should be suitably penalised.”

Ramachandran suggested Trai step up pressure on telemarketing agencies — and the banks, hotels, travel companies or insurance firms that hire them — to increase registration.

Trai, while launching the NDNC registry in June 2007, had notified all telemarketers — agencies that make calls or send texts to sell products — to register with the department of telecom before September 1 or forfeit their licence.

“Ignorance about the system and a general (idea) that enforcement of the penalty in India is weak are the main causes behind telemarketing firms not registering with DoT,” said Mahesh Uppal, telecom analyst.