Telcos roll out suffix on SMS headers to identify spam, share concern over gaps in OTTs

MOBILE users will now be able to differentiate between genuine and spam SMS as telecom operators have rolled out suffixes that will appear before the sender's name or header, industry body COAI said on Tuesday.

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The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents telecom operators like Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea, expressed concern over spammers taking the route of over-the-top or internet messaging apps which defeats the purpose of enforcing stringent measures to check spam and fraud messages.

"All telecom service providers (TSPs) have implemented the promotional ('P'), service-related ('S'), transactional ('T') and government ('G') communications suffix system on SMS headers, as mandated by the Telecom Commercial Customer Communication Preference Regulations (TCCCPR) vide its Amendment to the TCCCP Regulation dated 12th February 2025," COAI Director General, SP Kochhar said in a statement.