Soon we’ll all be able to screen spam calls: Mobile telephone numbers used for marketing calls must now be registered within a special database, allowing recipients to receive spam alerts from their service provider or the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) prior to an incoming call, the NTRA said in a statement (pdf).

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What’s next? Mobile operators and telemarketers have one month to toe the line, following which violators can be subject to “legal and regulatory measures,” the release said.

What does this mean? Within a month, you’ll start seeing an “NTRA Alert” whenever you receive a marketing call, giving you the option to answer or ignore it as you wish. If you receive a marketing call without the alert make sure to report it to your mobile operator, the NTRA call center — through the hotline 155 — or the authority’s application or website.

Some of us have already started receiving the NTRA’s alert when receiving marketing calls. The alert looks like something like this.

But spam calls are not illegal, yet: Unsolicited marketing calls have not been criminalized as of yet, former deputy of the House Communication Committee Ahmed Refaat told Enterprise. However, offenders could face fines and/or prison time if the regulator adds spam calling to the list of cybercrimes.

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