Trai unveils draft manual on rating buildings on digital connectivity

Just as electrical appliances are being rated between 1 to 5 stars based on electricity saving capabilities, buildings too can be rated for digital connectivity based on parameters like wi-fi infrastructure, mobile network availability, fibre readiness amongst others.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has released a draft manual to assess digital connectivity of properties based on various parameters like fibre readiness, mobile network availability, wi-fi infrastructure and in-building solutions and service performance among others.

The rating manual will serve as a structured framework to ensure a fair, transparent and standardized approach to assess digital connectivity.


The regulator said the manual will enable adoption of uniform assessment methodology by the digital connectivity rating agencies (DCRAs) for rating properties. It will also provide a standard reference for property managers (PMs) to create digital connectivity infrastructure (DCI) in their properties.

“A property with better ratings shall attract more users, buyers or investors and thereby add value to the properties,” Trai said in the draft manual. It added that 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.

Trai said 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.

Trai said digital connectivity is vital to the way we live and work. The exponential growth in digitalisation during the last decade has revolutionised the world, impacting everything, from economy, innovation, science, and education, to health, sustainability, governance, and lifestyle.

All the stakeholders need to send their comments by June 2 and counter-comments by June 9.