Regulators
TRAI disconnects 21 lakh telecom resources in 2025 spam crackdown
Regulator issues 7.3 lakh notices, drives surge in consumer complaints
NATIONAL: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has escalated its campaign against spam calls and messages, disconnecting telecom resources at scale and tightening penalties on repeat offenders.
According to its 2025 enforcement report, the regulator issued 7,31,120 notices to unregistered telemarketers during the year, signalling a tougher stance on Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC).
Penalties rose sharply for those who failed to comply. Around 4,73,075 entities faced one-month communication bans, while 89,936 repeat offenders were barred for six months. A further 1,84,482 telecom resources were disconnected entirely. Since August 2024, the cumulative number of disconnected resources has crossed 21.05 lakh, effectively dismantling large parts of persistent spam networks.
Consumer reporting played a central role in the crackdown. In 2025, users registered 31.09 lakh UCC complaints, with more than half, 17.06 lakh, filed via the Do Not Disturb (DND) app. App adoption surged, with installations rising 84.43 per cent year-on-year to 28.08 lakh, up from 15.22 lakh in 2024.
Trai chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti, said the focus was not only punitive action but a “perceptible improvement” in consumer experience. He said the regulator was pursuing a two-track approach: enabling legitimate, consent-based communication through registered channels while deploying AI-led spam detection and distributed ledger technology to identify and eliminate rogue operators.
Trai noted that unregistered telemarketers account for the overwhelming majority of UCC complaints, reinforcing the regulator’s view that stricter enforcement against non-compliant players is key to restoring consumer trust in telecom communications.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati sets EPG standards for DD Free Dish platform
New specs define 7-day guide, LCN mapping, and device compatibility.
MUMBAI: Your TV guide just got a backstage pass structured, scheduled, and far more in sync. Prasar Bharati has released detailed technical specifications for Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) services on DD Free Dish, laying down a standardised framework for how channels and programme information are organised and delivered. At the core of the update is a defined EPG data structure, covering genre-based categorisation, scheduling formats, and Logical Channel Numbering (LCN). The aim is simple: make navigation less guesswork and more guided experience across the platform’s over 40 million households.
The specifications also introduce a seven-day programme guide window for each channel, alongside clear rules for channel grouping and LCN mapping effectively deciding not just what you watch, but how easily you find it.
On the technical front, the document outlines requirements for Program Specific Information (PSI) and Service Information (SI), including descriptor usage across tables such as PAT, BAT and NIT. It further details service lists and network linkage parameters, giving OEMs and developers a clearer blueprint for integration.
Importantly, the framework is designed to work seamlessly with television sets equipped with in-built satellite tuners, enabling users to access DD Free Dish directly without additional hardware, an incremental but meaningful step towards simplifying access.
The platform will continue to operate on GSAT-15 transponders, using MPEG-4 compression and DVB-S2 transmission standards, ensuring continuity even as the interface evolves.
While largely technical, the move signals a broader push towards standardisation and user-friendly discovery in India’s free-to-air ecosystem because sometimes, the real upgrade isn’t what’s on screen, but how easily you get there.
