Telcos Add SMS Spam Filters; OTT Gaps Remain

New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) Mobile users will now be able to differentiate between genuine and spam SMS as telecom operators have rolled out suffixes that will appear before the sender's name or header, industry body COAI said on Tuesday.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents telecom operators like Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea, expressed concern over spammers taking the route of over-the-top or internet messaging apps which defeats the purpose of enforcing stringent measures to check spam and fraud messages.

"All telecom service providers (TSPs) have implemented the promotional ('P'), service-related ('S'), transactional ('T') and government ('G') communications suffix system on SMS headers, as mandated by the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR) vide its Amendment to the TCCCP Regulation dated 12th February 2025," COAI Director General, SP Kochhar said in a statement.

He said that the implementation has enhanced transparency and consumer protection as such categorization enables subscribers to easily identify the nature of incoming messages, reducing spam, strengthening compliance and improving overall trust and convenience for users.

"Users can easily identify and differentiate promotional, service-related, transactional and government messages at a glance. Clearly marking promotional messages ('P') and thus, helping subscribers avoid unwanted marketing communication, effectively reducing spam. Customers can readily identify genuine transactional ('T') and service-related ('S') messages, reducing the likelihood of fraud or scams," Kochhar said.

He, however, expressed concern as spammers and scamsters continue to take the route of messaging apps which remains unregulated.

"The concerns persist regarding the use of OTT Communication services for increasing spam and fraud messages, as the success of any consent framework or spam mitigation measure is incomplete if large parts of the communication ecosystem remain unregulated.

"This regulatory gap is increasingly being exploited, with a growing share of scams and unsolicited promotions now originating on OTT apps, adding to customer woes," Kochhar said.

He said that the non-regulation of OTTs apps creates an uneven playing field between the TSPs and the OTT Communication Services, raising privacy, traceability and national security concerns.

"COAI maintains that bridging this loophole through a unified consent management framework that brings all platforms, including OTTs, under its purview is critical to protect consumers and ensure consistency across the ecosystem," Kochhar said.