Spam call complaints rise 41% to 15.29 lakh in July-September, TRAI data shows

Spam call complaints jumped by about 41% quarter on quarter. Telecom subscribers lodged 15.29 lakh complaints about unwanted commercial calls and texts between July and September 2026, against 10.85 lakh in April-June, according to quarterly figures the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released on Friday, 13 November. Measured against traffic, complaints went from 1.5 to 2.14 for every million calls.

Of these, 7.23 lakh complaints were found fit for action. Operators barred 1,10,325 numbers for 15 days over a first violation and disconnected 13,777 for a year over repeat offences. They also blacklisted 374 senders for a year and blocked 3,725 SMS headers, the sender names that appear on bulk texts. In April-June, 46,786 numbers had been cut off for a year.

Calls and texts sent from Vodafone Idea numbers drew the most complaints: 5,39,285 of the 14,67,001 that operators traced to their own networks. Airtel followed with 3,52,062 and Reliance Jio with 2,93,716.

8.98 crore connections in the two states

TRAI’s quarterly release does not break the figures down by state. Its subscription data for September, released on 27 October, counts 8.98 crore mobile connections in the Andhra Pradesh service area, which also covers Telangana. Across India, only 16.64% of 134.9 crore subscribers have registered a Do Not Disturb (DND) preference. TRAI said the remaining 112 crore-plus can receive every promotional call and text sent by registered telemarketers.

The operators’ call-pattern detection systems marked 1,828 crore incoming calls and 162 crore text messages as suspected spam during the quarter. Suspected senders received 45.96 lakh warning notices.

What you need to do

A DND preference can be set or changed on the TRAI DND app, on an operator’s app or website, or by calling or sending an SMS to 1909. Subscribers can block promotional calls from every sector or only from some. By 30 September the app had been downloaded 42.36 lakh times. It carried 92.9% of all spam complaints in the quarter.

Amendments TRAI notified on 18 September lower the bar for action. Three or more unique complaints against a sender within 10 days are enough if the operators’ systems have also flagged that number. The earlier threshold was five complaints.

TRAI has set aside dedicated number series for commercial calls. Promotional calls use numbers beginning with 140. Banks, financial firms, insurers and government departments make service calls from the 1600 series. The 1601 series, introduced on 10 August, is for utility, logistics and delivery companies. A subscriber unhappy with how a spam complaint was settled can appeal within 15 days through the DND app, the operator’s app or portal, or 1909.