India, Oct. 22 -- The Centre has notified the Telecommunications (Regulatory Sandbox) Rules, 2026, establishing a framework for testing new telecom technologies, services, equipment and business models in a controlled environment, with temporary exemptions from specified regulatory requirements.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) notified the rules on 21 October under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. The framework allows the government to establish regulatory sandboxes on its own initiative or approve proposals submitted by eligible applicants.

A regulatory sandbox is a controlled testing environment in which new products, services and processes can be evaluated with a limited group of users for a specified period, with certain...