The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its recommendation to encourage live testing of innovative tech and use cases in the country. These recommendations came in view of rapid developments in technologies such as 5G/6G, AI, virtual reality and others. These recommendations are expected to form the basis of a regulatory sandbox framework for new services, technologies and business models in the digital communication sector. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requested the TRAI to for the same.
For the unversed, the regulatory Sandbox (RS) makes real-time but regulated access to telecom networks and customer resources which is not possible in conventional methods of lab testing or pilots. Regulatory bodies in several countries have already established such sandbox frameworks.
"Providing such a framework for live testing in India will encourage more entrepreneurs to develop solutions for the digital communication industry of the country as well as the world,” the Communications Ministry said in a statement.
As far as the eligibility for regulatory sandbox testing is considered, Indian companies or partnership firms, limited liability partnerships or a research institute that have done limited prior testing of their products, services and applications and meet all conditions mentioned in the framework can apply for it.
"As the RS testing will be carried out in live networks on a certain set of users, the framework has kept the security of networks and protection of customers in mind," the ministry emphasised.
To ensure accountability on the part of government agencies involved, strict timelines have been provided for completing the application evaluation process.
"The recommended Regulatory Sandbox framework is expected to give the digital communication industry’s startup ecosystem access to real network environments and other data of telecom networks to help test the reliability of new applications before bringing them to market," the ministry said.
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Inputs from IANS
