# TRAI rolls out 1601-series for utilities and courier calls 2026-08-10T12:46:22+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed non-banking companies in utilities, courier, and logistics sectors to use the 1601-series phone numbers for service and transactional calls. The series will be allocated directly to eligible entities, not intermediaries, after verification by telecom operators. TRAI said this will help consumers identify legitimate calls and combat impersonation by fraudsters using normal 10-digit numbers. Implementation under Phase-I covers electricity distributors, water utilities, city gas companies, LPG distributors, courier firms, and logistics providers. Telecom operators must complete verification and onboarding within 90 days. The 1601-series is separate from the 1600-series already used by banking, financial services, and insurance companies. TRAI clarified that promotional calls must continue to use 140-series numbers. ## Coverage - telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com - medianama.com Tags: 1601-series, call spoofing, logistics, telecom regulation, TRAI, utilities Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/trai-allots-1601-series-numbers-to-utilities-and-logistics-firms/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/trai-allots-1601-series-numbers-to-utilities-and-logistics-firms/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.