TRAI notifies new ceiling on IP-based telecom port interconnection charges, effective 2027

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has notified the Telecommunication Interconnection (Port Charges) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026, under Section 11(1)(b) of the TRAI Act, 1997, which empowers TRAI to prescribe the terms and conditions of interconnection between telecom service providers. The amendment updates the Telecommunication Interconnection (Port Charges) Regulation, 2001, whose charges were based on legacy E1/TDM port technology and had last been revised in 2012. The new regulations redefine "Port" to cover both legacy E1 ports (2.048 Mbps) and IP ports measured in Mbps or Gbps, and fix annual ceilings on IP-port charges of Rs 5.6 lakh per 1 Gbps port and Rs 42.3 lakh per 10 Gbps port. An interconnection provider and seeker may mutually agree to charges below these ceilings, or to IP-port capacities other than 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps, provided the charges are worked out transparently using the same methodology.

The IP-port charges apply uniformly across fixed-line, mobile, national long-distance and international long-distance services, while the earlier charges continue to apply only to E1 ports. A graded financial disincentive, capped at Rs 15 lakh per service area for each contravention, backs compliance with the regulations. TRAI finalised the amendment after a pre-consultation paper (April 2025) and a consultation paper (November 2025), an open house discussion, and comments from seventeen stakeholders. The regulations take effect from 1 January 2027.