Head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation: operators will block spam calls and businesses will register numbers to call Ukrainians

No more spam and scam — The Cabinet of Ministers has adopted resolutionwhich obliges mobile operators to block intrusive advertising and potentially fraudulent calls.

The head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov notesThe company said that operators have been provided with all the necessary tools for blocking, but the changes will be introduced gradually to allow time for technical improvements.

How will the system work?

The business enters into an agreement with the operator and registers numbers from which it can call customers. Otherwise, calls from these numbers will be blocked automatically. Additionally, the operator can block numbers upon a user’s request with a complaint about spam calls

The resolution defines spam calls as «unproductive calls» — such that withare valid from one and the same subscriber number to one or more numbers regardless of the fact of connection establishment and provision of services and have two or more characteristics:

• are not completed by establishing two-way voice communications within 7 calendar days;
• the duration of outgoing calls from one number in 7 calendar days is either absent or less than 60 seconds on average;
• 50% or more calls from one number in 7 calendar days are directed to different numbers (or network identifiers);
• inability to make a callback;
• are carried out using automatic dialing systems;
• more than 0.05% of complaints from the total number of outgoing calls within 7 calendar days, etc.

Other important changes to the telecom services sector are contained in the resolution:

• In the user’s personal account, you can not only view all your expenses but also turn off content services on your own without contacting the operator.
• From now on, the Internet speed must be specified in the contract. If the operator promises 100 Mbps and you get 40 Mbps, this is a breach of contract. You can file a complaint with the National Commission or go to court.
• Ukrainians in the combat zone will not lose their connection due to non-payment for services, and their SIM cards will not be blocked for non-payment. Also, the first time you log in to the network, you will receive a free communication package.

The Resolution shall enter into force three months after its publication, except for certain provisions, which shall enter into force after one year.