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In view of rapid developments in emerging technologies like 5G/6G, AI, virtual reality and others, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday released recommendations to encourage live testing of innovative tech and use cases in the country.

The development came after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requested the TRAI regarding a regulatory sandbox framework for new services, technologies and business models in the digital communication sector.

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.

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 regulatory sandbox testing.

"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.