Blockchain tech to curb pesky calls

The telecom regulator TRAI on Tuesday issued a draft regulation to curb pesky calls and text messages by using blockchain technology.

“The blockchain technology will ensure telemarketing messages are sent only to those who have subscribed to them and that too by authorised entities,” TRAI chairman R S Sharma, told reporters here.

The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations 2018 draft will be open for public comment till June 11.

The blockchain will ensure two things— non-repudiative and confidentiality.

Only those authorised will be able to access subscriber details and only when they need to deliver the service, he said.

Blockchain has proven useful where the objective is to cryptographically secure information and make it available only on need-to-know basis, he added.

Many telemarketing firms get registered with telecom companies to obtain subscriber details.

The new system will give access to only authorised agencies at the time they need to deliver service and details of only those subscribers who have agreed to receive the message.

"The digital record will show entire communication between entries involved." Sharma said.

The draft proposes to check misuse of repeated unsolicited calls being made even to those subscribers who have given consent, he said.