DoT's Concerns Addressed: TRAI Replies on Telecom Sharing Policy

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has officially issued its response to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) regarding the DoT's back-reference concerning TRAI's recommendations on 'Telecommunication Infrastructure Sharing, Spectrum Sharing, and Spectrum Leasing'.  

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has responded to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) regarding the latter's concerns about TRAI's recommendations dated April 24, 2024, related to 'Telecommunication Infrastructure Sharing, Spectrum Sharing, and Spectrum Leasing'.  

DoT's Initial Request and Intent

The origin of this exchange lies in the DoT's initial reference to TRAI dated December 7, 2021, under Section 11(1)(a) of the TRAI Act, 1997. In this reference, the DoT requested TRAI to provide recommendations on allowing the sharing of core network elements among telecom operators, including elements such as MSC, HLR, and IN.  

Subsequently, on February 10, 2022, the DoT, referring to its earlier communication, conveyed its intention to "promote optimum resource utilization among the licensees". The DoT proposed allowing the sharing of all kinds of telecom infrastructure and network elements among all categories of service providers licensed under Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, for the provision of authorized telecom services, and sought TRAI's recommendations on this matter.  

TRAI's Consultation and Recommendations

Considering the requests from stakeholders to permit inter-band spectrum sharing and spectrum leasing in the country, TRAI decided to address the issues related to spectrum sharing and spectrum leasing alongside the issues related to infrastructure sharing during its stakeholder consultation.  

Following a comprehensive consultation with stakeholders, TRAI submitted its recommendations on 'Telecommunication Infrastructure Sharing, Spectrum Sharing, and Spectrum Leasing' to the DoT on April 24, 2024.  

DoT's Back-Reference and TRAI's Response

However, the DoT, through a back-reference dated February 13, 2025, informed TRAI that, as per Section 11(1) of the TRAI Act 1997 (as amended), these recommendations were being referred back to TRAI for reconsideration. The DoT indicated that the government had reached a preliminary conclusion that the recommendations might not be acceptable or might require modification.