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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has introduced a new numbering series, 160xxxxxxx for making service/transactional calls— an initiative aimed at providing citizens ways to easily identify such legitimate calls. For instance, the service/transactional calls originating from Financial Entities like by RBI, SEBI, PFRDA, IRDA, shall start from 1601. Versus, calls from telemarketers for transactional or promotional calls would start from 140xxxxxxx.

At present, the 140xxxxxxx series has been allocated to telemarketers for making promotional/service/transactional voice calls. As 140xx series is being used extensively for promotional calls, consumers normally do not respond to such calls and many important service/transactional calls are missed, which has resulted in the wide use of regular 10-digit numbers by genuine entities for making service/transactional calls.

This also gave opportunity to fraudsters to deceive consumers using 10-digit numbers. 

Therefore, to enable consumers distinguish between the spam calls originating from 10-digit unknown numbers and the genuine service/transactional calls from genuine principle entities, there was a need of separate number series to cater to service/transactional voice calls. To fulfil this need, the DoT has allocated a new numbering series—160xxxxxxx, which will exclusively be used for service/transactional voice calls by the principle entities. 

This clear differentiation between service/transactional calls versus other types of calls will make it easier for citizens to manage their communication. Telecom Service Providers (TSP) shall be ensuring adequate verification of every entity before assigning a number from 160 series and the entity shall undertake to use it only for service/transactional calls as per Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), 2018.
Consumers can have more confidence in the legitimacy of calls from the 160xxxxxxx series, reducing the risk of falling victim to scams. Citizen are advised to report any suspected fraud communications, on Chakshu facility at Sanchar Saathi. Additionally, the DoT encourages consumers to activate the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) Do Not Disturb (DND) feature to block unwanted promotional calls, further enhancing their protection against spam.

Service Call means a voice call made to recipient either with his consent or using a template registered for the purpose, the primary purpose of which is to facilitate, complete, or confirm a commercial transaction that the recipient has previously consented to enter into with the sender; or to provide warranty information, product recall information, safety or security information with respect to a commercial product or service used or purchased by the recipient.

Transactional Call means a voice call which is not promotional in nature and is for the purpose of alerts to its own customers or account holders and information to be communicated by the voice call is time critical in the nature.

Promotional Call means a commercial communication voice call for which the Sender has not taken any explicit consent from the Recipient to make such voice calls to him.


DoT allots numbering series exclusively for service and transactional voice calls

We have a problem.

This is often the statement that should make brands reach out to communication agencies, and they should be ready to pay for the solution they expect to buy. That is exactly what has stopped happening. Rarely do agencies get calls from brands that have a problem, maybe the world today is devoid of issues that brands face and need solutions for.

The communication business today is a meme: Transient. Flippant. Momentary. Joke.

Often the brands think that posting a few memes is enough and then the next meme comes, they will post it again. In between the memes and jokes, the consumers will be so engaged that they will run to websites and stores and vendors and influencers to swipe their card, open their wallet and they too will post a meme.


Why do I say that? I can give you two examples of ‘pitch invites’ we had from two very large, very reputed, very progressive brands.

When I say pitch invite, it is The Pitch Invite. It is supposed to be so big that it will change the business trajectory of the agency. The clients have become very good at making their invite sound like the most important event that will ever take place, almost like the sighting of Halley’s Comet.

The first is from a very large real estate developer who wanted a multiagency pitch to sell possibly North India’s most expensive residential apartments. The apartments are so expensive that even looking at the side of where they are located might make your wallet thinner. The brand was clear, we will charge you if we give you work. The joke was on the agencies, I do know some who did pitch.

The meme was on us!

The second is from an insurance agent aggregator who wanted us to mount a song and dance show. They wanted us to meet their existing and potential audience, do insight mining, arrive at sharp consumer insight, do A/B testing and then produce ‘content for WhatsApp’. The client took offence and banned us from their brand when we impolitely declined. The meme was on us.

These are not the only two we have, we have more. Some even more hilarious than this.

Why is it that the brands have started to have fun at the cost of the agencies? Aren’t the agencies still solving business problems? Creating acts that change the course of humankind? Even win the biggest accolades at the biggest platforms globally? Or all of this makes no difference to the marketing directors?

The answer lies somewhere else.

What is free is value free. Any pitch that the clients call is a free show and two dozen agencies line up to mount a variety entertainment show. The process goes on forever, the client gets bored and the pitch is never closed. The client does some internal work, falls in love with what they do and then calls agencies and throws another bone. The meme is on us. Is this a rule?

We had one of India’s largest packaged goods companies walk into our office, chat with us and were awarded a task. There was no competitive creative show, no commercial bidding, just a clean business conversation. The agencies are full of examples of this kind too. The work that has been produced after such conversation is sharp, effective and makes a difference to the brand.

The onus is really on us who are in the business of communication. The memes are already here, they will only get brutal. Can we solve the problem we are facing ourselves?




The communication business today is a meme. Transient. Flippant. Momentary. Joke

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