TRAI Moves Interconnect Agreement Register Online from 1 January 2027

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued the Register of Interconnect Agreements (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 on 6 November 2026. The new rules come into force on 1 January 2027 and change the way telecom operators file and the public reads the deals that link their networks.

What interconnection means

Interconnection is the technical and commercial tie-up that lets traffic pass between two or more telecom networks, so that a subscriber of one operator can call or message a subscriber of another. Such agreements are recorded under the Register of Interconnect Agreements Regulations, 1999. Section 11(1)(b), sub-sections (vii) and (viii), of the TRAI Act, 1997 empowers the regulator to keep this register and open it for public inspection on payment of a fee.

How the rules were reviewed

• Pre-consultation paper on reviewing TRAI's interconnection regulations, dated 03.04.2025.
• Consultation paper issued on 10.11.2025; after an extension, comments closed on 15.12.2025 and counter-comments on 29.12.2025.
• Seventeen stakeholders sent comments and nine sent counter-comments.
• Open House Discussion: 28 January 2026.

Main changes

• Online filing: every operator must register agreements and changes to them on a TRAI portal. The old demand for printed copies with a floppy or diskette is gone.
• Deadlines: agreements already in force on 1 January 2027 must be filed within fifteen days of that date; new deals and modifications within fifteen days of signing or change.
• Searchable files: copies must be in text-searchable PDF.
• Online access: the public can apply to inspect the register and get copies or extracts through the portal, besides the physical route.
• Disaggregated data: TRAI may prescribe formats and deadlines for structured information to be added to the register.
• Graded penalties: breaches attract financial disincentives scaled to how serious they are.

New fees

The fees are broadly in line with the TRAI (Access to Information) Regulation, 2005. TRAI expects the changes to bring greater efficiency, transparency and certainty to interconnection.