DLT Guide - India

Background: As of June 1, 2020, DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) is in place and controlled by the Indian regulator and carriers. Its main purpose is to use blockchain technology to ensure only legitimate traffic is sent via local routes in this country while also protecting end subscribers from unwanted traffic. Who does this affect: The introduction of DLT relates to local traffic only, meaning that traffic sent via international long-distance operators (ILDO)/international routes is unaffected by this change. Timeline:

Phase

Starting Date

Customer Requirements

Phase 1

June 2020

Traffic via local routes to India can be sent only from DLT-registered Headers and exclusively by companies with a DLT ID.

Phase 2

April 1st, 2021

In addition to Phase 1 requirements, Message Template IDs must be saved in the DLT portal by each Indian entity.

Impact: After Phase 2 begins, transactions not complying with the requirements above will fail to be delivered.

Difference between Pre DLT vs Post DLT

Title

Pre DLT

Post DLT

Remarks

Customer Consent

No

Yes

Verifiable digital records of all customer opt-ins are made available on the platform. Customers can also see all their consents on a single dashboard

Customer Preferences

Yes

Yes

Consumers can also select a specific day(s) and a time band to block (or) receive. commercial communication in addition to the type of category; viz only DND

Entity/Enterprise Registration

No

Yes

An Entity need to register with originating access provider (OAP) on the platform

Telemarketer Registration

Yes

Yes

Telemarketer should now register with originating access provider (OAP) and no longer with TRAI

Header Registration

No

Yes

Entity should register all its SMS Headers and Voice CLIs on the platform

Scrubbing

Yes (only DND Check for Promotional SMS)

Yes (Promotional & Service Explicit)

Messages will be scrubbed against multiple parameters like Consent, Preference, Header, Template; and not just DND list

Complaint Management

Yes

Yes

Telecom operators will now be responsible for complaint resolution

Interoperability between telecom Service Providers

No

Yes

Registration details of Entity, Telemarketer, Header, Template will be shared across the network to ensure seamless view

100% Traceability

No

Yes

Everything is recorded and shared on the network using Blockchain technology.

Delivery Report

1. Promotional Traffic

Yes

No

Delivery status for promotional messages will not be available post DLT.

2. Transactional Traffic

Yes

Yes

Delivery status for transactional messages will continue to be available post DLT.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released The Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR) 2018 to regulate Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) and create transparency in the entire process. TRAI has created the guidelines to enhance control, curb any fraudulent activities and provide greater safety to the end customer.

As per the revised TRAI guidelines, The system will be governed using Block-chain technology also known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and the whole panel entities will be interlinked with each other and the companies who want to communicate with their customers will now have to register themselves with Telecom Operators for sending SMS using their company documentation. The Businesses (Principle Entity) and Service Provider (Telemarketers like LocalMail) will be accountable to telecom operators who will be directly accountable to TRAI.

Registration Process for Businesses

In order for any company to be able to terminate messages towards their end customers, the registration needs to be done in any one of the operator’s portals.

User Guide

Register as a Principal Entity/Telemarketer

Header Registration

Consent and Content Templates Registration

Upload Customer's Consent

The government directive links for the implementation of DLT can be found here and the updated version here.

As per the latest update from our operators partners in order to facilitate DLT, there is also an expected hike in the pricing and costing of bulk SMS from August 2020. You can read more about it here.

Need More Help?

If you need any further Help During the DLT Content and consent Registration Process, you can reach out to our support team at support@localmail.io

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