The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued its response to the back-reference dated March 19, 2025, received from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in respect of the TRAI’s recommendations dated February 20, 2023, on “Recommendations on Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity”.
In the past, TRAI and the government have taken various policy initiatives to fulfil the demands of telecom connectivity. Key recommendations already made by TRAI in this regard are given in Annexure II of the consultation paper (CP) on ‘Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity’ dated March 25, 2022. These policy interventions have helped in improving connectivity. However, the authority noted that all these efforts have fallen short in achieving the desired level of digital connectivity specifically inside the buildings or areas.
The authority further noted that confluence of the Internet of Things (IoT) with building operations and the future of the workplace is creating a significant opportunity for building owners, operators, and occupants to create smart, digitally connected spaces to support the end users. To fulfil such demand, development of digital connectivity infrastructure (DCI) should be made an integral part of basic infrastructure for buildings. However, there are various issues in the current framework which are bottlenecks in achieving the demands of good digital connectivity.
Furthermore, the authority highlighted that, in respect of development of buildings, there are relevant acts, bye-laws, and regulations that prescribe minimum or essential requirements for building services like water, electricity, gas, fire safety, structural safety and other provisions. There are local bodies and authorities who are responsible to enforce the same by granting approvals at various stages of the construction of the buildings as well as supervision during the construction and approval for the use of such facilities. Model Building By laws (MBBL) published by the Town and Country Planning Organisation (TCPO) under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) contains the provisions for all building services. States adopt the provisions of the MBBL in their respective state bye-laws for building development related activities.
In this context, the authority had submitted comprehensive recommendations dated February 20, 2023, to the government on ‘Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity’ to address the issues relating to in-building digital connectivity in a collaborative manner. These recommendations become more relevant in the present context and to achieve seamless 5G and upcoming 6G services inside buildings and to make them future ready. The 5G and upcoming 6G access networks require higher frequency to deliver high data rates, but higher frequency have higher attenuation rates due to building walls and other building materials.
Subsequently, the DoT, through a back-reference dated March 19, 2025, sought clarification from TRAI on certain recommendations in the “Recommendation on Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity”
