TRAI clears confusion on SMS limit,exempts certain services

E-ticketing,SMSes from social networks,directory services are exempt from new TRAI limit.

Regulator TRAI exempted various service providers,including the dealers of telecom operators,e-ticketing agencies and social networking sites,from the new limit of one hundred SMSes per day per SIM,which was imposed to block pesky calls and messages.

On September 5,after much delay,TRAI had come out with recommendations to stop pesky calls and text messages from September 27,ordering that no access provider operators shall permit the transmission of more than 100 SMSes per day per SIM.

8220;8230; Hereby directs all access providers to exclude the following persons from the limit of one hundred SMS per day per SIM 8212; dealers of the telecom service providers and DTH operators for sending request for electronic recharge on mobile numbers,8221; said TRAI in a statement.

The directive from the regulator had come in the wake of concerns raised by telecom lobby COAI on limiting the SMS entitlement per SIM to 100 per day.

It will also exempt e-ticketing agencies for responding to e-ticketing request made by its customers,SMSes from social networking sites Facebook,Twitter,Orkut,LinkedIn and GooglePlus to their members in connection to activities relating to their accounts,based on verifiable options; and agencies providing directory services,such as Justdial,Zatse,Callezee,Getit and Askme.

Earlier,COAI had asked TRAI to reconsider its recommendation to limit the number of SMSes per sim to 100 per day,saying that such a regulation may pose a potential challenge to the 8220;fundamental rights8221; of an ordinary users.

There are several instances where SMSes are an important mode of communication. There could be a situation where a customer has exhausted the limit and suddenly some emergency occurs,COAI had said.

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Further,this limit will not also be applicable on 8220;blackout days8221; festive occasions,when the customer is free to send as many messages he wants.

In the case of post-paid telephone numbers,the access provider shall not permit more than 3,000 SMSes per SIM per month,the Trai recommendations had said.

However,Trai said,8221;The access provider shall,before excluding the persons,obtain an undertaking from such person that he shall not use the said facility in any manner for sending commercial communications.8221;

Subscribers have the option of choosing to be under the 8216;Fully Blocked8217; category,which is akin to the 8216;Do Not Call Registry8217;. If a user selects the 8216;Partially Blocked8217; category,he/she will receive SMSes in categories chosen.

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For registering under the fully blocked list,a customer has to SMS 8216;START 08217; to 1909.