Overview
- The order, issued November 18, applies to all access providers and principal entities that register and use SMS content templates for commercial messages.
- Each variable must be explicitly labeled at template registration to indicate its purpose, covering items such as URLs, app download links and callback numbers.
- Access providers and enterprises have 60 days to modify existing templates, after which messages from non-compliant templates will be rejected.
- TRAI cites UCC investigations showing untagged variables were used to insert malicious links and numbers, and says pre-tagging enables automated whitelisting and content scrubbing.
- New templates registered after November 28 will be accepted only after compliance verification, with principal entities required to pre-register variable elements and operators tasked with notifying senders of faults.