Complete verification of headers to combat pesky texts, says Trai

TRAI on Thursday said all principal entities, like banks, financial institutions, and others, need to complete the process of verification of message headers and content templates immediately, as the telecom regulator forged ahead with its drive to crackdown on pesky messages to safeguard consumers.

Any delay on part of Principal Entities (PEs) to get the reverification of headers and content templates may result in the blocking of their headers, content templates and messages, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) cautioned.

TRAI said it will review the progress in the next two weeks and may issue suitable directions, if required.

"Therefore, all the PEs should complete the process of verification of Headers and Content Templates immediately," TRAI said in a statement.

Entities such as banks, other financial institutions, insurance companies, trading companies, business entities etc. send commercial messages to the telecom subscribers through SMS, and these entities are ...