An office can look ready for work and still fail the first practical connectivity test: a call drops in the lift, a meeting room has weak mobile signal, or both broadband links enter through the same duct. These details are expensive to discover after a team has moved in.
TRAI's new Digital Connectivity Rating platform gives Indian businesses another source of evidence before leasing space. It does not replace a site visit or a carefully written agreement. Used properly, however, it can help an operations team ask sharper questions and preserve answers that would otherwise remain sales promises.
What the new platform changes
On 25 September 2026, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India launched a web platform and mobile workflow for rating connectivity in properties. According to the official platform announcement, consumers can search published ratings, view digitally signed certificates and verify them through a QR code. Property managers can register sites, choose a registered rating agency and track an assessment.
The framework covers constructed and under-construction properties. Its assessment can consider fibre readiness, mobile availability, in-building systems and Wi-Fi infrastructure. Participation is voluntary, so an unrated building has not necessarily failed. It simply gives a prospective tenant less standardised evidence to examine.
Start with the certificate, not the star
A headline rating is useful for comparison, but an office decision depends on what was assessed. Search for the exact property, verify the certificate and confirm that the address, tower and assessed area match the space on offer. A campus-wide description may not answer what happens on a specific floor or in a basement.
Record the certificate identifier and the date you checked it. Ask whether the property has expanded or changed network equipment since assessment. If a broker supplies a screenshot, verify it on the public platform instead of treating the image as current proof.
Test the places where work actually breaks
Schedule a site visit during a normal working period. Test voice calls and mobile data in the proposed office, meeting rooms, reception, lift lobby, basement and parking area. Run the same basic checks on at least two operators used by staff. One strong signal beside a window does not represent an entire floor.
Then ask for a simple route diagram showing where fibre enters, where telecom equipment sits and how service reaches the tenancy. IndiaPress Live's guide to the India 6G roadmap explains why teams should separate a future technology direction from present deployment evidence. The same discipline applies here: a building described as “5G-ready” still needs observable coverage and usable infrastructure today.
Separate availability from resilience
Two internet-provider logos do not automatically mean two independent connections. Both services may share the same entrance, riser, local exchange dependency or power point. Ask the property manager and providers where their physical routes diverge and what continues during a power failure.
This is also where broader infrastructure constraints matter. The IndiaPress24 analysis of India's data-centre bottlenecks shows that network diversity, power and site design have to work together. For an office tenant, the equivalent question is practical: which single failure could disconnect everyone, and what tested fallback remains?
A comparison sheet for shortlisted offices
Use the same fields for every property so an attractive fit-out does not hide missing evidence.
| Check | Evidence to request | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Rating identity | Searchable certificate matching the tower and location | Screenshot without a verifiable record |
| Mobile coverage | Results for work areas and common spaces | Only an outdoor or lobby test |
| Fibre access | Available providers and installation lead time | “Multiple options” with no written confirmation |
| Route diversity | Separate entry paths or documented shared points | Two providers using one physical route |
| Backup power | Equipment covered, duration and last test date | Generator claim that excludes telecom rooms |
| Change control | Owner for faults, upgrades and tenant works | No named escalation path |
The sheet should inform a decision, not produce a false mathematical winner. A smaller office with clear evidence and workable fallbacks may be safer than a newer building whose claims cannot be verified.
Put operational promises into the lease process
Before signing, route connectivity findings to the people reviewing facilities, IT and the commercial agreement. Record who permits additional cabling, who pays for building-side work, access hours for engineers and the escalation route during an outage. Confirm whether the tenant can install a secondary connection or rooftop equipment if that becomes necessary.
Keep marketing descriptions separate from agreed obligations. A rating can support due diligence, but it does not by itself promise that a particular operator, speed or uptime will suit every tenant. Service-provider contracts and internal network design remain separate decisions.
A one-hour pre-lease routine
- Search and verify the property's certificate, scope and identity.
- Walk the proposed floor and failure-prone common areas with two staff phones.
- Ask for provider availability, fibre routes and telecom-room power coverage.
- Note every unsupported answer as an open item rather than an assumption.
- Assign each open item to the landlord, provider, facilities lead or IT lead.
- Carry material commitments into written commercial and technical documents.
Illustrative example: a 40-person services firm shortlists two Gurugram offices. Building A has a higher visible rating but cannot confirm diverse fibre entry. Building B has a lower rating, two documented routes and permission for a tenant-managed backup link. The right choice depends on the firm's outage tolerance, not the star count alone.
Conclusion
TRAI's platform can make indoor connectivity evidence easier to find and compare, but the rating should begin due diligence rather than end it. Verify the exact certificate, test the actual workspace, examine shared failure points and put important commitments in writing. That sequence turns a public rating into a useful leasing decision instead of another badge in a brochure.
