Spammers turn to OTT networks as telcos adopt stringent measures: COAI
NEW DELHI: The
Cellular Operators Association of India
(
Coai
), which represents
Reliance Jio
,
Bharti Airtel
and
Vodafone Idea
, said that spam or pesky communications are lately shifting to over-the-top (OTT) apps such as Meta-owned WhatsApp, following telecom carriers taking stringent preventive measures.
'Telecom service providers (TSP) networks have become very stringent and are not permitting spam due to government and their own measures. OTT players, on the contrary, are doing nothing,' SP Kochhar, director-general, Cellular Operators Association of India told ETTelecom.
Kochhar said that the spammers are shifting from telco to OTT networks, and they go about it unannotated.
The Delhi-based industry group, together with London-based GSMA, has been advocating strict steps against OTTs or mobile app providers, arguing that they must be brought under the regulatory ambit, and offer a fair share for carriers' network usage.
Studies suggest that nearly 85% of the data over the telecommunications network is being used for multiple OTT applications.
Citing Bharti Airtel's instance, he said that the telco, which has come out with an AI-based app, has been received very well, and added that Airtel would probably come out with a better version soon.
'Jio is also doing a lot of work on this. They cannot be left behind. The moment they are left behind, they lose competition,' Kochhar added.
In September last year, Airtel introduced an AI-powered spam detection tool, a first-of-its-kind that alerts users for incoming 'suspected spam' calls.
Following firm network monitoring by telcos, the spammers as well as fraudsters are largely shifting to OTT platforms, which has given rise to cases involving digital arrest and banking fraud using screen share.
Recently, the telco group sought to bring mobile apps under the country's cybersecurity regime.
Last month, the sector regulator, in discussions with the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCOR), recommended a collective approach to deal with
unsolicited commercial communication
(UCC), including on OTT and RCS communication platforms.
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