TRAI issues the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2026

• 06 Feb 2026
• 72 Views

On 5 February 2026, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2026. These rules shall come into force from 1 April 2026, and shall apply throughout the territory of India. 

During interactions with TRAI, the stakeholders had highlighted the need for the following:

• Improvement in audit-related provisions in the Interconnection Regulations 2017 (as amended) and the accompanying audit manual; 

• Reduction in repetitive audits of DPOs to minimize resource wastage, operational disruptions and a decline in stakeholders’ confidence in the audit process; 

• Incorporation of provisions for infrastructure sharing in audit framework; and 

• Enhancement in the accountability of auditors by categorizing them on the basis of their experience to ensure their credibility.

To improve the accountability as well as credibility of the audit process, the Expression of Interest (EOI) document notified by TRAI in August 2025 for the auditors’ empanelment includes technical proficiency requirements, a categorization of auditors on the basis of their experience and stringent accountability provisions. 

Also, to address issues related to the audit framework, TRAI published a consultation paper on Audit Related Provisions of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017 and the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Digital Addressable Systems Audit Manual’ on 9 August 2024, seeking comments from stakeholders. 

A total of 64 comments and 3 counter comments were received. They were made available on TRAI’s website. An open house discussion was conducted on 5 December 2024. After that, in September 2025 for stakeholders’ comments, TRAI issued Draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2025. It received a total of 37 stakeholders’ comments that were placed on the website of TRAI.

On the basis of above consultations, TRAI finalized these amendment regulations. Some of the main features of these regulations are as follows:

• Clearly defined audit timelines; wherein the distributors have to conduct audit and submit audit reports to broadcasters by 30 September each and every year.

• Audits will be conducted on a financial year basis rather than on a calendar year. 

• Broadcasters may appoint their representatives to be present during the audit to ensure transparency and credibility in the audit process. If broadcasters believe there are any inadequacies or discrepancies in the audit report, they can request clarifications from the auditor via DPO. Auditors are required to provide these clarifications in a timely manner. If a broadcaster is not satisfied with the clarifications provided, they may conduct their own audit at their own expense provided they obtain approval from the Authority. 

• In the event that a broadcaster does not receive the audit report from the distributor by September 30, they have the right to initiate an audit of that distributor. 

• To facilitate ease of doing business, the requirement for an annual audit at the DPO's cost is now optional for distributors with fewer than 30,000 subscribers. However, broadcasters retain the option to audit these DPOs at their own cost. 

• In cases of infrastructure sharing, both SMS and CAS/DRM must meet all specified requirements for each distributor. Separate instances must be created to allow for entity wise reconciliation. 

• Infrastructure providers shall insert a network logo watermark for all pay channels at the encoder end, while the seeker must provide the network logo through the Set Top Box/middleware. To ensure the best viewing experience for audiences, it is preferred that only two logos are visible. 

• The amended audit manual shall be issued soon to align with the updated regulatory framework.

The above-stated amendments in audit-related provisions in regulations, along with strengthening of criteria for auditors’ empanelment, will result in increased credibility as well as accountability in the auditing process. Further, it will decrease the instances of repetitive audits without any compromise on the trust of stakeholders. 

In addition, it will lower the costs for both the DPOs and broadcasters and ensure the audit exercise gets completed in a timely manner. To access the full text of the TRAI regulations, you can check TRAI’s official website. 

Source: Press Information Bureau (PIB)