DND ineffective as users receive calls from personal numbers: Survey

Subscribers receiving unwanted calls from personal phone numbers that promote brands, says survey

Nine of 10 subscribers in India complain about getting unwanted telephone calls, putting in doubt the Do Not Disturb (DND) system put up by telecom firms.

Most spam calls are for brand promotions and they are made from personal mobile numbers, the Financial Express reported citing a survey by community social media platform, LocalCircles. 

Spam calls that people receive are usually not from landline numbers or commercial numbers belonging to a specific brand. Such calls bypass the DND system, said the report.

The rules say brands are bound to provide undertakings to the telecom service providers if they send promotional communication. However, the same rule doesn’t apply to an individual caller. Users can register their phone numbers for DND services by going to their service provider’s website or by making a call to them.

“Citizens employed in the financial services, real estate and other service industries shared insights about those in sales and marketing in their organisations hiring 3rd party agencies for lead generation. As per the information shared, these contracted agencies have staff who use their personal mobile numbers from their offices or home to make such calls,”. LocalCircles was quoted as saying in the newspaper report.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the regulator, is expected to meet operators on February 17 to discuss the quality of services (QoS), review the current quality standards, 5G service, and unsolicited commercial communication, said the report.