TRAI releases draft manual on rating of properties under “Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024” for comments of stakeholders

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New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the draft manual for assessment of rating of properties for digital connectivity under the “Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024” on 13th May 2025.

The TRAI has invited all stakeholders to submit their comments and feedback on draft Manual, in the prescribed format latest by 2nd June 2025 and counter comments by 9th June 2025, says Atul Kumar Chaudhary, Secretary, TRAI in a media statement issued here recently.

The rating manual will enable adoption of uniform assessment methodology by the Digital Connectivity Rating Agencies (DCRAs) for rating of properties. It will also provide a standard reference for the Property Managers (PMs) for creation of Digital Connectivity Infrastructure (DCI) in their properties. The full text of the draft manual is available on TRAI’s website at www.trai.gov.in.

Digital connectivity is vital to the way we live and work. The exponential growth in digitalization during last decade has revolutionised the world impacting everything, from economy, innovation, science, and education, to health, sustainability, governance, and lifestyle. Digital technologies are fundamentally changing business models, institutions, and the society as a whole.

As per reports, maximum data consumption happens inside buildings and therefore in-buildings digital connectivity has become crucial especially for 4G and 5G networks which uses high frequency bands for delivering high speed data rates, but they get attenuated due to walls and building materials.

In major step to address issues of digital connectivity inside buildings, the Authority has submitted recommendations to the Government on “Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity” on 20th February 2023. The recommendations are aimed to create an ecosystem for co-creations of Digital Connectivity Infrastructure (DCI) as a part of any development activity.

Further to above recommendations, TRAI has also released the regulation “Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024″ on 25th October 2024 to bring a framework for rating of properties for digital connectivity to promote creation of good digital connectivity through a collaborative and self-sustainable approach.

A property with better ratings shall attract more users, buyers or investors and thereby add value to the properties.

The draft rating manual provides a methodology to assess the digital connectivity of properties and areas across various categories. Properties shall be evaluated based on defined parameters in the regulation such as fibre readiness, mobile network availability, in-building solutions and Wi-Fi infrastructure, service performance etc.

The rating manual will serve as a structured framework designed to ensure a fair, transparent, and standardized approach to assessing digital connectivity under the provisions of the regulation. This document provides a comprehensive guide for all stakeholders involved in implementation and assessment of digital connectivity in properties and areas, including Digital Connectivity Rating Agency (DCRA), Property Manager (PM), and Service Providers.

A structured rating system enables prospective tenants and buyers to compare properties based on their connectivity rating, ensuring they choose locations with the best digital infrastructure.

The stakeholders are invited to submit their comments and feedback on draft Manual, in the format provided in the Annexure-I, latest by 2nd June 2025 and counter comments by 9th June 2025. The format is also available at the last page of the draft manual.

For any clarification pertaining to the draft manual, Tejpal Singh, Advisor (QoS-I) TRAI may be contacted on email: adv-qos1@trai.gov.in or at Tel. No. +91-11-20907759.