TRAI: 1,10,325 numbers barred, 374 senders blacklisted for spam in July-September
TRAI said telecom operators barred 1,10,325 numbers for 15 days, cut off 13,777 for a year and blacklisted 374 senders over spam calls and SMS in July-September 2026.
Key points
- TRAI released its report on action against unsolicited commercial calls and SMS for July to September 2026.
- Operators barred 1,10,325 numbers for 15 days, disconnected 13,777 for a year and blocked 3,725 SMS headers, TRAI said.
- Only 16.64% of subscribers have registered Do Not Disturb preferences, which can be set through the TRAI DND App or 1909.
Photo: Chris Woodrich / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped). Representational image.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said on 13 November 2026 that telecom operators acted against more than 124 thousand telephone numbers and blacklisted 374 senders over unsolicited commercial calls and SMS between 1 July and 30 September 2026. The figures come from TRAI's quarterly report on spam, compiled from information given by the telecom service providers.
What Happened
According to TRAI, 1,10,325 numbers were barred for 15 days for a first violation of its rules, and 13,777 were disconnected for one year for repeated violations. A total of 374 senders, the businesses or telemarketers that own the numbers or SMS headers used, were blacklisted for one year, and 3,725 SMS headers were blocked.
Subscribers filed 1.529 million spam complaints in the quarter, of which 0.723 million were actionable. TRAI said this works out to about 2.14 complaints per million calls. The TRAI DND App accounted for 92.9% of all complaints.
Registered Do Not Disturb (DND) preferences led to the blocking of about 1.70 billion promotional calls and 11.09 billion promotional SMS, TRAI said. Operators' call-pattern systems flagged 18.28 billion incoming calls and 1.62 billion SMS as suspected spam, sent 4.59 million warning notices to suspected senders, and disconnected 9.97 thousand suspected senders who failed KYC checks.
TRAI also said it introduced the 1601 number series on 10 August 2026 for service and transactional calls from utilities and logistics and delivery firms. The 1600 series is for service and transactional calls from banks, financial services firms, insurers and government, and the 140 series is for promotional calls.
What It Means
TRAI said more than 1.12 billion subscribers have not registered any DND preference, so they can receive all commercial calls and SMS from registered senders. Only 16.64% of the 1.349 billion subscribers have registered one.
Readers who want fewer promotional calls can register or change their DND preference through the TRAI DND App, their operator's app or website, or by calling or sending an SMS to 1909. Spam can be reported through the same app. Since genuine service calls from banks and insurers now come from 1600 series numbers, a caller claiming to be a bank from an ordinary number deserves caution. Cyber fraud can be reported at https://cybercrime.gov.in or on helpline 1930.
Source: PIB press release
This report describes enforcement actions and allegations on the public record, attributed to the officials cited. An order, FIR or chargesheet is not a conviction; parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Sources & Citations
- PIB press release — Ministry of Communications