OTP services at risk if Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone-Idea fail to meet TRAI's December 1 deadline

A deadline from India’s telecom regulator could disrupt OTP delivery, affecting critical services like banking, e-commerce, and social media. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) granted telecom operators a final extension until December 1, 2024, to implement traceability rules for commercial messages, including one-time passwords (OTPs).

TRAI’s traceability mandate requires telecom operators to identify and verify the source of all commercial messages. The objective is to prevent scammers from sending fake OTPs and fraudulent messages, ensuring greater consumer protection. Messages from non-compliant entities will be blocked from December 1.

Why the delay

The original deadline of November 1 was postponed after telecom operators, including Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, and Reliance Jio, expressed concerns about service disruptions. Many businesses, including banks and telemarketers, have yet to upgrade their systems to meet the traceability requirements.

Industry estimates suggest that 1.5 to 1.7 billion commercial messages are sent daily in India. Blocking non-compliant messages too soon could cause widespread disruptions.

TRAI instructed operators to send daily compliance reminders to businesses until November 30. Starting December 1, any message failing to meet traceability standards will be rejected.

To mitigate disruptions, TRAI has allowed a gradual transition. Telecom operators will continue issuing warnings to defaulting entities throughout November. Principal entities (PEs) and telemarketers must declare their PE-TM (Principal Entity-Telemarketer) chains for proper identification.

What can users do?

As operators work to meet the new requirements, users are advised to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), which adds an extra layer of security, avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading unknown apps, update software regularly, use strong passwords, and install security apps.