Utilities, courier, logistics providers can now use 1601 number series
What's the story
India's telecom regulatory authority, TRAI, has expanded the use of the 1600-number series beyond banking and financial services. The new 1601 number series will be used by utilities, courier, and logistics service providers for transactional and service calls. This move is aimed at preventing fraud and impersonation incidents while making it easier for consumers to recognize legitimate calls.
Implementation details
Who will get the new number series?
In the first phase of this expansion, the 1601 series will be assigned to electricity distribution companies, water utilities, city gas distribution companies, LPG distribution entities, and other utility service providers.
Courier companies, express logistics firms, and parcel delivery service providers engaged in consignment deliveries will also be able to use this new number series.
Number allocation
How telecom operators will allocate the new numbers
Telecom operators will allocate the new numbers over a period of 90 days.
They will first verify the eligibility of the entity and ensure that these numbers are only used for transactional and service calls, not promotional ones.
The number series won't be given to intermediaries or aggregators providing platforms for these services.
Regulatory reasoning
Why a separate number series was needed
TRAI explained the need for a separate number series by highlighting the critical and sensitive nature of communications made by entities in the BFSI sector and government.
The regulator said this was done to avoid mixing important financial voice calls with service and transactional calls from other sectors.
The move is expected to be an effective tool against impersonation by fraudsters using regular 10-digit numbers.