New Interconnection Rules: Interconnect Point will be provided for telecom companies within 30 days

New Interconnection Rules: Interconnect Point will be provided for telecom companies within 30 days

New Delhi: On Tuesday, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has made it mandatory for each telecom company to provide interconnection points to other service providers without any discrimination within 30 days of receipt of application. The regulator said, "If any service provider violates these provisions, then the penalty will be imposed according to the provisions, which will be up to Rs 1 lakh per day."

TRAI released the Telecom Interconnection Act, 2018 on Tuesday, which will be effective from February 1, 2018.

The issue of interconnection in the telecom industry became very important when Reliance Jio entered the market. The company had accused the already existing companies that they were not providing enough interconnection to them.

The regulator also made it clear that according to the rules or guidelines issued from time to time by the authority, interconnection fees such as set-up fees and infrastructure fees can be decided by negotiation between service providers.