Interconnection port charge
Also called: Port charges · Topic: Infrastructure: Transport, Communications and Energy · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
An interconnection port charge is what one telecom operator pays another to connect their networks. The operator asking to connect is the interconnection seeker, and the operator giving the link is the interconnection provider. The seeker pays the provider for ending (terminating) interconnection links at the provider's point of interconnection, which is the place where the two networks meet. Without these links, a customer of one operator could not call or message a customer of another. TRAI regulates the charge because the seeker must connect to reach the provider's customers. If there were no limit, the provider could charge a rival too much. TRAI first prescribed these charges in its Port Charges Regulation of 2001. They were based on legacy E1 ports (2.048 Mbps each) and were last revised in 2012. The Port Charges (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026 add IP-based ports, which are priced by bandwidth. They take effect on 1 January 2027.
Example
From 1 January 2027, the yearly ceiling (the most a provider can charge) is ₹5.6 lakh for a 1 Gbps IP port and ₹42.3 lakh for a 10 Gbps port. The two operators may agree on a lower price. A 10 Gbps port works out to ₹4.23 lakh per Gbps. That is cheaper per Gbps than one 1 Gbps port.
Don't confuse with
- Termination charge: paid for each call that ends on another operator's network, so it depends on traffic. A port charge pays for the link capacity itself.
- Licence fee: paid by an operator to the government as a share of its AGR (adjusted gross revenue, the revenue base for fees). It is not a payment between two operators.