Pariksha SaathiTRAI releases Telecommunication Interconnection (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026: shift to LSA-level and IP-based interconnection, effective 1 January 2027
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released the Telecommunication Interconnection (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026 on 3 November 2026; they will take effect from 1 January 2027. Interconnection refers to the technical, operational and commercial arrangements that connect two or more telecom networks, allowing traffic to flow between them and enabling users of different service providers to communicate seamlessly; Section 11(1)(b) of the TRAI Act, 1997 empowers TRAI to prescribe the terms and conditions of interconnection between service providers. TRAI began its review with a Pre-Consultation Paper on the 'Review of the existing TRAI Regulations on Interconnection matters' in April 2025 and followed it with a Consultation Paper in November 2025, on which seventeen stakeholders submitted comments and nine submitted counter-comments; an Open House Discussion was held in January 2026. The amendment lets interconnection providers and seekers mutually agree on locations for handing over or taking over traffic, and facilitates a transition from interconnection at the Long Distance Charging Area (LDCA) and Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA) level to the Licensed Service Area (LSA) level; TRAI said shifting traffic to LSA-level points of interconnection (POIs) would simplify routing, support more efficient management of scarce numbering resources, lower latency and enhance service reliability. Existing traffic at LDCA/SDCA-level POIs is to be migrated to LSA-level POIs within three years in a phased manner. All new interconnections established after the regulations come into force will be IP-based, and all existing POIs working on E1/TDM-based interconnection are to be migrated to IP-based interconnection within three years in a phased manner. Other changes include a framework for the voluntary surrender of a POI by a service provider for its own operational requirements (earlier the regulations provided only for disconnection of a POI); extension of the validity of bank guarantees furnished on reassessment, and of the interval for such reassessment, from six months to twelve months; interest on delayed payment of interconnection charges or interconnection usage charges at a rate mutually agreed between service providers, subject to a ceiling of the State Bank of India's one-year Marginal Cost of Funds-based Lending Rate (MCLR) plus two percent; reporting requirements to monitor the shift of traffic to LSA-level POIs and the migration to IP-based interconnection; and a graded framework of financial disincentives for contravention of the regulations.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Releasing its Consultation Paper on the 'Review of existing TRAI Regulations on Interconnection matters' on 10 November 2025, TRAI said that, in accordance with Section 11(1)(b) of the TRAI Act, 1997, it was undertaking a comprehensive review of all nine existing interconnection regulations, so that the framework takes into account the evolution of technology and changes in the telecom sector. It said the framework had evolved over more than two decades, from 'The Register of Interconnect Agreements Regulations, 1999' to 'The Telecommunication Interconnection Regulations, 2018', and that the latest amendment was 'The Telecommunication Interconnection (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2020', notified on 10 July 2020. The review focused, among other things, on IP-based interconnection, which TRAI said becomes more pertinent as the accelerating 4G/5G rollout requires IP-based interconnection for better service quality, and on the levels of interconnection, then at the LSA level for mobile network interconnections and at District/Tehsil level for fixed-line telephone network interconnections. It also covered interconnection issues for satellite-based telecommunication networks, including the nature and location of Points of Interconnect involving satellite earth station gateways, as well as interconnection charges, interconnection usage charges and the Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) framework. A pre-consultation paper had been released on 3 April 2025.
Check yourself: how many existing interconnection regulations did TRAI say it was reviewing in November 2025, which regulation began the framework, and which amendment did it describe as the latest?
All nine; The Register of Interconnect Agreements Regulations, 1999; The Telecommunication Interconnection (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2020, notified on 10 July 2020.
Revision task: from this release, note the date the regulations take effect, the TRAI Act provision cited, the consultation dates and response numbers, the change in the level of interconnection and its deadline, the rule for IP-based interconnection, the bank-guarantee change, the ceiling on interest for delayed payment and the enforcement provisions; from the note, the number of regulations under review, the first and the 2018 regulations, the amendment then described as the latest, and the issues the review covered.
Test yourself
TRAI's Telecommunication Interconnection (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026, which take effect from 1 January 2027, facilitate a transition of telecom interconnection to which level?
Show the answer
Answer: Licensed Service Area (LSA) level
The amendment facilitates a transition from the existing interconnection at the Long Distance Charging Area (LDCA) and Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA) level to the Licensed Service Area (LSA) level. Existing traffic at LDCA/SDCA-level points of interconnection is to be migrated to LSA-level POIs within three years in a phased manner, after which all traffic will be handed over or taken over at LSA or Service Area level POIs.
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