The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is a statutory body established under Section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, to regulate the telecommunications sector in India. It was set up on February 20, 1997, by an Act of Parliament, to address the structural conflict that arose when the government, which was the main telecom operator, began opening the sector to private competition under the National Telecom Policy 1994. Before TRAI's creation, the Central Government oversaw the regulation of telecom services and tariffs.
TRAI's functions are broadly divided into recommendatory, regulatory, and tariff-related roles, primarily defined in Section 11 of the Act. Its regulatory functions include ensuring compliance with license terms, fixing interconnection terms, prescribing quality of service standards, and protecting consumer interests. Under Section 11(2), TRAI has the authority to regulate tariffs and pricing for telecom services. A significant change occurred with the TRAI Act (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000, which separated the adjudicatory functions from TRAI by establishing the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The TDSAT was created to adjudicate disputes between a licensor and a licensee, between service providers, and between a service provider and a group of consumers, as outlined in Section 14 of the Act.
The most recent and significant change is the enactment of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, which replaced the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. This new law modernizes TRAI's mandate by moving to an "authorisation" model for telecom services and explicitly bringing concepts like satellite communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) services, and cybersecurity within TRAI's regulatory scope. Furthermore, a recent Supreme Court judgment on July 24, 2026, in the matter of TRAI's appeal against a TDSAT order (involving Polimer Cable Network and four Local Cable Operators), clarified that TRAI retains the power to issue regulatory directions under Sections 11(1)(b) and 13 to ensure compliance, even though the exclusive power to adjudicate contractual disputes between service providers rests with the TDSAT under Section 14. The Court held that TRAI's regulatory enforcement actions do not constitute adjudication of inter-service disputes.