No more confusion over service calls: TRAI brings 1601 number series

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday directed the use of a separate 1601-series number for transactional and service calls made by entities outside the Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) and government sectors.

Utilities, courier firms covered in first phase

The first phase will cover service and transactional calls from utilities, courier and logistics companies. TRAI clarified that the 1601 series cannot be used for promotional voice calls.

The move follows the existing use of the 1600-series for service and transactional calls by BFSI entities and government organisations. TRAI said the separate 1601 series would prevent important financial communications from being mixed with calls from other sectors.

“After widespread adoption of the 1600-series numbers for service and transactional calls by BFSI sector entities, which has provided valuable experience for extending the trusted numbering framework to the other sectors also, TRAI has now initiated phase-wise implementation of the 1601-series allotted by the DoT (Department of Telecom) for similar calls by the entities in sectors other than the BFSI sector and Government,” TRAI was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

1601 numbers to help curb impersonation fraud

The numbers will be assigned directly to eligible entities after verification by telecom service providers. Intermediaries and aggregators will not be eligible to receive the numbers.

TRAI said the system could help tackle impersonation fraud, where scammers use regular 10-digit numbers while claiming to represent legitimate businesses. A dedicated numbering identity is also expected to make it easier for consumers to recognise genuine service-related calls.

The utility category will include electricity distribution companies, water utilities, city gas distributors, LPG providers and similar service providers. Courier and logistics firms, including parcel delivery and freight companies, will also be covered.

Telecom operators get 90 days

Telecom service providers have been given 90 days to complete the migration and onboarding of eligible entities under Phase I.

"The TSPs shall verify the eligibility of entities before assigning 1601-series numbers, and obtain an undertaking from them regarding exclusive use of these numbers for service and transactional voice calls," TRAI told PTI.

The regulator said the 1600 series will continue to be used by regulated BFSI entities and government bodies, while the 140 series remains designated for promotional calls.

Why the 1600 series remains important

The announcement comes amid a recent disagreement between TRAI and caller identification platform Truecaller over the display of tags on dedicated 140 and 1600 numbers.

TRAI has cautioned that 1600-series calls should not be labelled as spam because they can include important communications such as fraud alerts and transaction verification. According to a recent TRAI report, 1.15 billion calls originated from 1600-series numbers during Q1 FY2026-27.