Indian Operators To Curb Roaming Calls

India's telecoms regulator, the TRAI asked all mobile service providers to provide a specific facility to their subscribers that would discourage receiving of unwanted/unimportant calls during international roaming.

It has been observed that during the international roaming the subscribers generally do not receive the CLI on incoming calls. In the absence of CLI it becomes difficult for the roaming subscriber to identify and choose the calls which the subscriber wants to answer. The TRAI say that this problem has become more acute due to increased number of telemarketing calls.

After consultation with the service providers, as a first step, the Authority has informed all the service providers to provide the facility of ring back tone to their subscribers availing international roaming.

This facility shall play any desired message e.g. "I am on international roaming" to the calling party. With this arrangement, the calling subscriber may be discouraged to proceed with the call to the international roaming subscriber unless it is a call of an urgent nature. This facility is easy to implement and the control of switching 'on and off' will be with the roaming subscriber. This will also take care of breach of privacy and requirement of taking any permission from the roaming subscribers for implementing this facility.

The service providers are required to inform all their subscribers regarding availability of such a facility. For easy implementation of this facility, the Authority has asked all the service providers to devise a simple code by dialing which the roaming subscribers can activate the desired ring back tone.

Mobile service providers have been asked to report the compliance within 15 days."

Posted to the site on 2nd November 2006