Telcos, businesses spar over calls, SMS consent regime

Mumbai: Telecom operators and businesses, including banks, are at odds over how to implement India’s digital consent framework for commercial SMS and calls.

While one dispute is among licensed telecom players, the broader conflict is between the telecom industry and banks over the fixation and sharing of charges for consent collection.

Telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea want complete control over consent ownership, citing their access to the majority of consumers.