TRAI Q2 FY27 Anti-Spam Report: AI Flags 19.9 Billion Calls and SMS; Jio Logs Fewer Sender Complaints Than Airtel and Vi

India’s telecom operators flagged 19.9 billion suspected spam calls and SMS messages using network-level artificial intelligence (AI) systems between July and September 2026, according to quarterly regulatory data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on November 13, 2026.

In its Quarterly Highlights of Action Against Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC) for Q2 FY 2026–27, the regulator revealed a sharp contrast in sender-side spam origination across major private carriers. Despite holding India’s largest active subscriber base at 527.25 million, Reliance Jio recorded 293,716 sender-side spam complaints—significantly lower than Bharti Airtel’s 352,062 and Vodafone Idea’s 539,285.

At the same time, the report highlights a major consumer protection gap: 83.36 per cent of India’s 1.349 billion telecom subscribers have still not registered their preferences on the Do Not Disturb (DND) registry, leaving more than 1.12 billion users exposed to promotional outreach from registered telemarketers.

Carrier-Wise Sender Performance: Jio vs Airtel vs Vi vs BSNL

TRAI evaluates telecom service providers both as Terminating Access Providers (networks where subscribers receive spam) and as Originating Access Providers (networks from which spam calls or messages originate).

On the originating side, Vodafone Idea accounted for the highest volume of sender complaints among all operators during the July–September 2026 quarter, even though its active subscriber base was less than half of Jio’s or Airtel’s. State-run BSNL logged 42,022 complaints across 100.95 million active users.

(Note: Smaller regional operators including RCom, STPL and QTL accounted for the remainder of the 1,467,001 operator-attributed originating complaints.)

While Vodafone Idea and Airtel issued the highest number of 15-day temporary bars for first-time violators, Jio accounted for 274 of the 374 senders blacklisted across the industry for one year—a strict penalty that prevents a blacklisted entity from acquiring new telecom resources from any operator.

How Network-Level AI and Enforcement Performed in Q2 FY27

Across the quarter, Indian telecom networks handled 714.01 billion originated calls and 705.96 billion incoming calls, alongside 854.4 billion incoming SMS messages. AI-based spam detection tools deployed by telcos analysed traffic patterns in real time to alert users before they answered suspicious communications.

• AI Spam Flagging: Automated network systems flagged 18.28 billion incoming calls and 1.62 billion incoming SMS messages as suspected spam.
• Proactive Sender Warnings: Telecom operators issued 4.59 million warning notifications to entities exhibiting high-probability spam behaviour.
• KYC Crackdown: Operators conducted e-KYC verification for 34,030 suspected UCC senders and disconnected 9,977 telecom resources after senders failed verification checks.
• Resource Enforcement: Following consumer complaints, telcos acted against more than 1.24 lakh telecom resources—barring 1,10,325 numbers for 15 days on first violation and disconnecting 13,777 numbers for one year on repeat offences. Additionally, 3,725 commercial SMS headers were blocked.

Why 1.12 Billion Subscribers Remain Unprotected by DND

The report underscores that network AI and regulatory penalties only solve half the problem when consumer-level blocks remain underutilised. As of September 30, 2026, only 224.49 million subscriptions—or 16.64 per cent of India’s 1.349 billion subscriber base—had registered preferences in the DND registry.

For subscribers who have opted in, the framework demonstrated measurable blocking power during Q2 FY27:

• Out of 15.27 billion promotional calls originated using the dedicated 140 numbering series, 1.70 billion were automatically blocked based on registered DND preferences.
• Out of 660.71 billion commercial SMS messages sent by registered telemarketers, 11.09 billion promotional messages were blocked.

Because over 1.12 billion lines have no registered DND preference, telemarketers remain legally permitted to send promotional calls and messages from 140-series numbers to those users.

Understanding the 140, 1600 and 1601 Numbering Series

To help mobile users distinguish between legitimate service calls, telemarketing and potential scams, TRAI has segmented commercial voice calling into distinct prefixes:

• 140 Series (Promotional): Reserved strictly for commercial promotional and telemarketing calls. DND preferences directly govern whether these calls reach a user.
• 1600 Series (BFSI and Government): Dedicated to transactional and service calls from banking, financial services, insurance (BFSI) institutions and government entities. This series recorded 1.27 billion calls during Q2 FY27.
• 1601 Series (Utilities and Logistics): Introduced by TRAI on August 10, 2026, this prefix is assigned to service and transactional calls from utility providers, e-commerce logistics and courier delivery companies, and cannot be used for promotional voice calls.

When consumers receive promotional or fraudulent calls from regular 10-digit mobile numbers instead of these designated prefixes, they remain Unregistered Telemarketers (UTMs) subject to disconnection.

How Subscribers Can Reduce Spam Calls

Consumer reporting remains the primary trigger for permanent disconnections. TRAI noted that 92.9 per cent of all 1.529 million UCC complaints in Q2 FY27 (1.421 million complaints) were filed through the official TRAI DND App, which has crossed 4.236 million downloads.

Subscribers who have not yet set their preferences can activate full or partial DND blocking through three official channels:

1. TRAI DND App: Available on Android and iOS to set sector-specific blocks and report spam calls or SMS directly from call logs.
2. SMS or Call to 1909: Sending START 0 via SMS to 1909 activates full DND across all commercial categories.
3. Operator Apps: Using the DND preference managers inside the MyJio, Airtel Thanks, Vi or BSNL Selfcare apps.

While Q2 FY27 data confirms that AI filters are intercepting billions of suspected spam interactions at the network edge, sustained reduction in unwanted calls depends on stricter KYC enforcement against rogue 10-digit callers and wider DND adoption among Indian mobile users.