TRAI starts consultation on rating buildings, areas for digital connectivity

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a Consultation Paper on ” Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity “.

In recent years, the demand for digital connectivity has increased in many folds. COVID-19 pandemic gave a further boost to this demand, where everyone not only wanted to stay connected to his/her near and dear but also got involved more extensively in online activities such as shopping, education, health care, or work from home, using the digital network. To fulfill these demands, various policy interventions have been taken by TRAI so far.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been monitoring the quality of service of telecom services across the country by conducting detailed studies and issuing suitable directions to the stakeholders, to improve the quality of service. While there have been significant improvements in coverage of telecom services on the street, there are still huge gaps in meeting the quality demands of the users inside and across the buildings/ residential or commercial areas. These gaps are required to be bridged by implementing technological solutions in holistic ways by stakeholders, wherein end-users take call on the quality of services needed inside their complexes, premises, or areas.

The consultation paper (CP) on “Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity” is suggesting a roadmap for creating an enabling environment for the creation of an ecosystem in designing, implementing, operating, maintaining, expanding connectivity through up-gradations to meet future challenges of digital connectivity inside buildings and areas. The paper highlights the importance of collaborative partnerships between all relevant stakeholders including the involvement of end-users in decision making processes at an early stage, in co-designing and co-creation of the digital connectivity infrastructure inside the building/society or area. It also provides details on the provisions in various laws and guidelines for the development of telecom infrastructure in an area/building and suggests measures to include digital connectivity infrastructure as an essential component for the completion of a building and/or development of an area, with legal backing.

The CP proposes value addition to the buildings or areas by introducing digital connectivity infrastructure evaluations and award ratings in terms of points or stars, based on the quality of experience assessed in a scientific way involving a combination of field measurements, users’ experience of digital connectivity provided in their buildings or premises.

The consultation paper describes various methodologies for measurement of quality parameters which include consumption profile, building profile, for the “Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity”.

The Consultation Paper on “Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity”, has been placed on TRAI’s website www.trai.gov.in, seeking inputs from the stakeholders and telecom consumers. Written comments on the issues raised in the Consultation Paper are invited from the stakeholders by 04th May 2022 and counter-comments by 18th May 2022.

CT Bureau