Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in India, announced on Wednesday that it is introducing an AI-driven spam detection solution for all its customers, aimed at tackling the widespread issue of spam calls and messages in the country. The company asserts that this initiative represents India’s first network-based AI-powered spam detection system. This feature will notify Airtel’s users in real time about suspected spam calls and texts and will be automatically activated for all customers without any extra charge. Airtel serves approximately 387 million wireless subscribers in India. For a long time, Indians have been inundated with an overwhelming number of spam communications. A recent survey by the startup LocalCircles indicated that an alarming 95% of users report receiving unwanted calls daily, with many encountering at least three such disturbances each day.

The government’s “Do Not Disturb” (DND) registry has largely failed, as 90% of registered users continue to receive spam, according to the survey. Gopal Vittal, managing director and CEO of Bharti Airtel, mentioned that the company has invested 12 months in developing the new spam detection system. He remarked, “Spam has become a nuisance for our customers. ” Airtel explained that the system incorporates a dual-layer protection mechanism, filtering communications at both the network level and within IT systems. The company’s data scientists have reportedly created a proprietary algorithm that examines various criteria such as caller patterns, call frequency, and duration in real-time. This AI-based solution is expected to analyze an impressive 1. 5 billion messages and 2. 5 billion calls each day, identifying around 100 million potential spam calls and 3 million spam SMS messages daily, as stated by the company. In addition to filtering, the AI system also inspects SMS content for malicious links, cross-referencing them against a centralized database of blacklisted URLs. This extra layer of security is designed to prevent users from inadvertently clicking on dangerous links, a common tactic used in fraud and phishing schemes. The system is also capable of detecting irregularities, such as frequent changes in IMEI numbers, which often signify fraudulent activities, according to the company. The problem of phone spam in India goes beyond simple annoyance, as there has been a notable increase in reports of scams involving callers impersonating government officials, delivery services, and credit institutions.