A range of measures is being planned to tackle the issue of nuisance phone calls, the culture secretary has said.
Regulators are to get more power to act against companies responsible, while cold callers will not be allowed to conceal their number - making reporting unwanted calls easier.
A licensing system for call centres may also be introduced in the future.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) document, Connectivity, Content and Consumers: Britain's digital platform for growth, says the calls "can be live marketing calls, silent calls, abandoned calls and recorded marketing message calls".
"More often than not it is perceived as a nuisance, but it can also cause anxiety, inconvenience and distress," the report says.
The measures being taken also include lowering the threshold for number of calls before enforcement action is taken and allowing Ofcom and the Information Commissioner's Office to more easily share information.
There will also be clarification of the process for opting out of receiving marketing calls and reporting unwanted calls.
