THE TELECOMMUNICATION TARIFF (FIFTY FOURTH AMENDMENT) ORDER, 2012

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India issued the Telecom
Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulation,
2010 (6 of 2010) dated the 1st December, 2010 to provide an
effective mechanism for curbing unsolicited commercial
communications (UCC). All the provisions of regulations came into
force from 27th September 2011. The above regulation had put a
limit of 200 SMS per day per SIM. This restriction had the desired
effect in curbing UCC to a great extent. However, after the removal
of the cap of 200 SMS per day per SIM, the number of complaints
relating to UCC from 10 digit numbers have increased manifold.
This required further regulatory measures to address the increasing
menace of UCC.
2. With a view to effectively address the concerns on unsolicited
commercial communications, TRAI had undertaken a Consultation
process. Keeping in view the feedback received from the
stakeholders and other facts and circumstances of the case, TRAI
has issued The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer
Preference (Tenth Amendment) Regulations, 2012. This
Amendment has inter-alia modified sub-regulation (2) of regulation
20 of the principal regulations, specifying that any person other
than a telemarketer registered under regulation 14 or an entity
sending transactional message shall be charged as specified in the
Telecommunication Tariff Order to be notified separately.
3. The Authority has observed that subscribers undertaking
telemarketing activities using normal telephone connections use
discounted SMS packages available in the market, for sending bulk
promotional SMSs. During the consultation, some of the
stakeholders have suggested that a differential tariff may be
imposed to make it economically unviable for unregistered
telemarketers to send commercial communications using ten digit
numbers. Such provisions will also encourage unregistered
telemarketers to get them registered to get discounted telecom
resources. Some service providers offer bundled plans and
packages where the SMS charges effectively become close to zero.
As far back as 2011, the Authority recognised that such bulk SMS
rates are attractive to advertisers and can impose costs on other
networks by directing heavy traffic to other operators’ networks.
The Authority had recognised that such practices justified

regulatory intervention. Accordingly, TTO has been amended
mandating the service providers not to allow sending of more than
one hundred SMS per day per SIM at concessional rate. However,
subscribers can send SMS beyond one hundred SMS per day per
SIM, but all such SMSs will be charged at the rate of not less than
fifty paisa per SMS.
4. While arriving at the floor price of 50 paisa in respect of SMS in
excess of 100 per day per SIM, the Authority looked into the SMS
rates currently levied by various operators in the tariff plans as well
as SMS packages. It was noticed that the maximum rates levied by
most of the operators for local SMS is Re.1 per SMS. There are also
tariff plans where SMS rate is as low as 5 Paisa per SMS. Further,
the access service providers are also offering a number of special
tariff vouchers providing free and/or concessional SMS rates. With
a view to disincentivise the consumers from sending large number
of SMS and to augment the objective of The Telecom Commercial
Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2012, the
Authority has decided to specify a floor tariff of fifty paisa for SMS
exceeding 100 per SIM per day sent by persons other than a
telemarketer registered under regulation 14 or an entity sending
transactional message referred in clause (k) of sub regulation 2 of
regulation 20 of The Telecom Commercial Communications
Customer Preference Regulations, 2012.
5. The above floor price of fifty paisa per SMS exceeding 100 SMS per
SIM per day will also apply to the SMS packages offered.
Consequently, though consumers shall be able to send any number
of SMS on any day, the number of free SMS or SMS at tariff less
than fifty paisa per SMS shall not exceed 100 SMS per SIM per day.
6. After implementation of the TTO 54th Amendment, the subscribers
may have to pay a higher rate for SMS in excess of 100 per day per
SIM. Therefore, it is essential that this condition is explicitly and
transparently conveyed by service providers to all subscribers who
are otherwise entitled to lower rates in their tariff plans or SMS
packages.
7. The Authority expects that notifying a floor tariff of fifty paisa per
SMS for SMS exceeding 100 SMS per SIM per day would be one of
the several measures initiated to effectively protect the telecom
subscribers from the menace of unsolicited commercial
communications being sent by the unregistered telemarketers