By Anupam Saxena and Nikhil Pahwa A couple of weeks ago, the Indian telecom regulator TRAI amended the SMS Spam Regulations to include more messages under the 'Transactional Messages' category. It has said that the list would now include 'information sent by a registered company or charitable trust or society or telecom service provider, pertaining to its activities to a telecom subscriber in response to a verifiable request of such subscriber'. What we found interesting here is the inclusion of a registered company in the guidelines, though there is no clarity on what the TRAI means by a registered company, and what the process for registration is. Still, it could mean that there's an opportunity for free-content subscription companies, or those that integrate web and SMS can provide services to customers registered on India's Do Not Call registry. We've written to the TRAI for a clarification on both the process and the definition of a registered company, and will update in case we receive a response. Here's what the conditions for a registered company, charitable trust or telecom service provider are, in order to send a DND customer a message: - Sends information to the subscriber only after receipt of a verifiable request from him. - Informs the subscriber through SMS, that the information requested for will be provided for a maximum period of six months, unless renewed and also the procedure for the subscriber to opt out at any time during the six months period from receiving such information. - Shall obtain a fresh…
