More Indian telecom giants including Vodafone Idea, Jio to deploy blockchain-based anti-spam call tech

More and more Indian telecom giants are joining the race to implement blockchain technology to fight pesky calls and messages.

Following recent reports that suggested that Airtel awarded a multi-million dollar to IBM to deploy a blockchain-based pan India anti-spam call solution, a new report from The Economic Times states that Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio Infocomm will also be rolling out similar solutions soon.

The move from these telecom firms is aligned with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) regulation on unsolicited commercial communication (UCC), which will go into effect this month.

Per the report, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Vodafone Idea have teamed up with Tech Mahindra and Tanla Solutions, respectively. The blockchain-based solution will empower subscribers to set their communication preferences and consents.

Vodafone Idea has inked a multi-year contract with Tanla Solutions to deploy the technology, along with a regulatory sandbox and production platform.

“Deployment is underway and will help in arresting spam and fraud-related commercial communications for Vodafone Idea subscribers,” a Tanla spokesperson told the news outlet, adding that Tanla was also helping Airtel in the initiative, though IBM was the bigger vendor for the technology.

A source familiar with the matter told the ET that Jio and Tech Mahindra had jointly developed the blockchain solution and the latter would manage it.

Rajan Mathews, director-general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), said that the organization has been working to bring everyone on board, including (state-run) BSNL, for the deployment of the distributed ledger technology.

Analysts believe that this could be the world’s largest use case for a blockchain solution in the telecom sector to date. The technology could also be used in areas such as mobile number portability, interconnect settlements, supply chain streamlining and content partner settlements among others, they said.