The use of blockchain in regulatory ecosystems is a promising approach to address challenges of compliance among mutually untrusted entities. In this work, we consider applications of blockchain technologies in telecom regulations. In particular, we address growing concerns around Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC aka. spam) sent through text messages (SMS) and phone calls in India. Despite several regulatory measures taken to curb the menace of spam it continues to be a nuisance to subscribers while posing challenges to telecom operators and regulators alike. In this paper, we present a consortium blockchain based architecture to address the problem of UCC in India. Our solution improves subscriber experiences, improves the efficiency of regulatory processes while also positively impacting all stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem. Unlike previous approaches to the problem of UCC, which are all ex-post, our approach to adherence to the regulations is ex-ante. The proposal described in this paper is a primary contributor to the revision of regulations concerning UCC and spam by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The new regulations published in July 2018 were first of a kind in the world and amended the 2010 Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR), through mandating the use of a blockchain/distributed ledgers in addressing the UCC problem. In this paper, we provide a holistic account of of the projects' evolution from (1) its design and strategy, to (2) regulatory and policy action, (3) country wide implementation and deployment, and (4) evaluation and impact of the work.
翻译:在这项工作中,我们考虑在电信监管条例中应用供应链技术,特别是解决印度通过短信和电话发送的未经请求的商业通信(UCC aka.spam)日益引起关切的问题;尽管为遏制垃圾邮件的威胁采取了一些监管措施,但它仍然是用户的麻烦,同时也对电信运营商和监管者提出了挑战;在本文件中,我们提出了一个以财团为主的供应链架构,以解决印度的UCC问题;我们的解决办法改进用户的经验,提高监管程序的效率,同时积极影响电信生态系统的所有利益攸关方;与以前对UCC问题采取的做法不同,我们遵守条例的做法都是事后的;尽管本文件所述提案仍然是对用户的困扰,同时对电信运营商和监管者提出了挑战;我们于2018年7月公布的新的监管条例是世界首创的一类,并修正了2010年电信商连锁信通技术供应链影响评价,1 通过纸质化、供应链和供应链战略的实施, 提供了2010年电信业连锁信通技术监管和供应链战略的实施。