The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed all telecom operators to publish the details of SMS based services offered and tariffs of such services on their home page, and ensure that any changes are immediately updated. The regulator has said that telecom operators have been violating the instructions issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in regards to the use of short codes, special characters and the provisions of the National Numbering Plan, though it hasn't revealed the exact nature of these violations. Telecom operators have also been asked to submit information regarding each short code to TRAI within 10 days of every quarter-end, starting with the quarter ending March 31, 2015. In November 2006, DoT asked all telecom operators to use level 5 for allocation of short codes, which essentially means that all short codes had to begin with 5. In December 2006, guidelines for the same were released, which are: - Telecom operators to prefix '5' in front of all existing 4-digit short codes used for SMS-based services within their networks. - Migrate all existing 5 & 6-digit short codes to 5-digit short codes and ensure that the first or first two digits were 5. - All short codes to be a minimum of 5-digits long. Also, while using short codes or special characters for providing premium rate services, like voting in TV shows and gaming services, telcos were required to inform the consumer about the charges of the service through a voice alert in English and one local language.…
