Indoor connectivity becoming critical challenge: Trai Chairman AK Lahoti

New Delhi: Consumers are increasingly facing indoor connectivity issues as the quantity and speed of consumption of mobile data is growing, highlighting the urgent need for developers and building owners to proactively include connectivity infrastructure in construction plans, a top official of telecom regulatory body Trai said on Friday.

While speaking at COAI Digicom Summit 2026, Trai Chairman AK Lahoti said mobile networks alone may not be able to meet the demands of the data explosion, particularly with the advent of AI and therefore, the regulatory framework and policies are supporting the expansion of fixed broadband networks to handle consumers' requirements.



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"Indoor connectivity experience is emerging as another challenge. While the quantity and speed of consumption of mobile data is growing, indoor connectivity is not able to meet the expectations, and consumers often complain of poor signals indoors. The challenge becomes more prominent with the use of mid-band frequencies in 5G services. It is therefore imperative that buildings provide for indoor digital connectivity infrastructure," Lahoti said.

He said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has made recommendations to the government in this regard, which have been accepted, and these need to be incorporated in building designs and construction practices.

"At the same time, to facilitate the consumers, Trai has come out with a regulatory framework for rating of properties for quality of indoor digital connectivity infrastructure. Adoption of this rating framework will go a long way in improving the quality of indoor digital connectivity," Lahoti said.

Trai has notified regulations in October 2024 for giving ratings to buildings, mainly residential and commercial premises, based on the quality of digital connectivity they house. The ratings are to be provided by the Digital Connectivity Rating Agency, empanelled with Trai.


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Lahoti said that Trai has also recommended that the government improve spectrum availability for the telecom operators

"TRAI has recommended making additional spectrum available for auction. This includes 37 to 40 GHz bands and the 600 MHz band, both capacity and coverage, besides other existing IMT (mobile services) bands," Lahoti said.

Signals transmitted in the 600 MHz band spectrum are expected to improve mobile signals inside homes.