Now Reading: TRAI rolls out 1601-series for utilities and courier calls
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TRAI rolls out 1601-series for utilities and courier calls
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…
The Story in Brief
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.
The Indian Opinion
The 1601-series is a sensible fix for a growing nuisance, but regulators must learn from the 1600 experience. Truecaller data shows users now block 79% of 1600-series calls, suggesting the trusted-numbering idea alone does not stop spam. The real test will be whether TRAI enforces its ban on promotional use of the 1601-series and verifies entities directly, not through aggregators. Without strict monitoring, fraudsters will simply shift to the next series. Can TRAI audit compliance before the 90-day onboarding deadline ends?
Sources (2): telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com, medianama.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
