TRAI Caps IP Port Charges in Third Amendment Regulations 2026

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 9 November 2026 brought out the Telecommunication Interconnection (Port Charges) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026. The amendment creates, for the first time, a charging framework for ports used in internet-protocol based interconnection, and it comes into force on 1 January 2027.

What interconnection means

Interconnection is the set of technical, operational and commercial arrangements that join two or more telecom networks so that calls and data can pass between them and a subscriber of one operator can reach a subscriber of another. Section 11(1)(b) of the TRAI Act, 1997 allows the regulator to lay down the terms of interconnection between service providers and to secure technical compatibility between their networks.

Why the charges were revised

The port charges in force came from a regulation of 2001, which was built around legacy E1 or TDM port technology and whose rates had last been changed in 2012. TRAI began the review by issuing a pre-consultation paper on interconnection matters and then a consultation paper that carried the background and the views already received. Seventeen stakeholders sent comments and nine sent counter-comments, and an Open House Discussion was held in January 2026 before the amendment was finalised.

The main changes

• The word port now covers both the legacy E1 port of 2.048 Mbps and IP ports, whose capacity is written in Mbps or Gbps.
• Annual ceilings for IP ports are fixed at Rs 5.6 lakh for a 1 Gbps port and Rs 42.3 lakh for a 10 Gbps port.
• A provider and a seeker may agree on charges below these ceilings, and on capacities other than 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps worked out by the same transparent method.
• IP port charges are the same for fixed-line, mobile, national long-distance and international long-distance services, while the older rates stay with E1 ports.
• A graded financial disincentive with an upper limit of Rs 15 lakh per service area applies to each instance in which the rules are broken.

Significance

TRAI said the change aligns the rules with the technology now in use and is meant to make interconnection between networks smoother, while holding to transparency, non-discrimination and fair competition. The full text and the explanatory memorandum are on the regulator's website.