In early 2026, India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) completed a comprehensive regulatory reform for A2P commercial SMS. Through three core measures — mandatory URL whitelisting, classified management of the 160 number range, and zero-tolerance interception at the gateway level — combined with TRAI’s supporting Sender ID suffix system, the DoT has built a full-chain control system covering sender identity verification, pre-registration of content, and real-time traffic interception, aiming to eradicate persistent issues such as spam SMS, phishing fraud, and artificial traffic inflation.
The core initiative of this reform is the mandatory URL whitelisting system. All web links, APK installation packages, and callback numbers embedded in SMS must be registered and filed in the DoT system in advance before use, which directly cuts off the main channel for fraudsters to lure users via dynamic short links or malware. Second, under the classified management of the dedicated number range, transactional messages (such as bank notifications and OTP) and service messages are all migrated to the 160 number range, physically separated from marketing messages on the 140 number range. This allows users to intuitively identify the nature of messages, and also facilitates operators in carrying out differentiated compliance checks. Third, zero-tolerance interception at the gateway level requires operators to intercept any unverified traffic in real time at the entry point, blocking non-compliant messages at the source and significantly raising the technical costs and risks of sending non-compliant SMS.
The reform is being rolled out in phases: the URL whitelisting directive was issued at the end of 2024; migration to the 160 number range was launched in Q1–Q2 2025; operators were required to deploy AI detection systems to identify abnormal traffic in Q3–Q4 2025; and full implementation was completed in early 2026. Meanwhile, TRAI revised its regulations in February 2025 to mandate that Sender IDs for commercial SMS carry category suffixes (-P for promotional, -S for service, -T for transactional, -G for government), which complements the DoT’s number range measures. Together, they form a clearly identifiable commercial SMS classification system from the two dimensions of identity labeling and channel. The underlying driving force behind this reform is the surge in unsolicited commercial communications and mobile fraud in India, including SMS phishing, artificial traffic inflation (AIT), and identity spoofing. The implementation of the new regulations marks a new phase of refined control in India’s A2P SMS regulation.
