TRAI pushes DPOs to close annual audits before Dec 31

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a stern reminder to all Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs), including Multi System Operators (MSOs), IPTV operators, Direct-to-Home (DTH) players, and HITS operators, to complete their mandatory system audits for the calendar year 2025 by December 31, 2025, failing which they may face financial disincentives under existing regulatory provisions.

In a notice dated October 31, 2025, the authority directed all non-compliant DPOs to ensure completion of their annual audits as mandated under Regulation 15(1) of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017, also known as the Interconnection Regulations, 2017.

According to TRAI, the regulations require every distributor of television channels to cause an audit of its system once every calendar year, either by an empanelled auditor or by Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 

The audit ensures that DPOs adhere to technical and operational parameters, especially those concerning addressable systems that allow transparent channel subscription and reporting.

The authority observed during a recent review that “many DPOs have not caused audits of their systems for the calendar year 2025, so far.” Expressing concern over the lapse, TRAI’s notice advised all such operators to initiate and complete the audit process “at the earliest” and to ensure that the final report by the auditor is issued no later than December 31, 2025.

The notice further warned that failure to comply with the deadline would attract a financial disincentive under sub-regulation (1A) of Regulation 15, which empowers TRAI to impose penalties for non-compliance with the annual audit mandate.

Under the Interconnection Regulations, 2017, the annual audit is a key compliance mechanism designed to promote transparency, accountability, and accuracy in the reporting of subscriber numbers and channel distribution by DPOs. 

These audits form the backbone of revenue settlements between broadcasters and distributors, ensuring that subscription revenues are shared fairly and that there is no under-reporting of active connections.

The audit also verifies whether DPOs have implemented the required addressable systems that enable subscribers to choose channels on an à-la-carte or bouquet basis, a consumer-rights-driven reform that TRAI introduced to bring transparency to the pay-TV ecosystem.

Since the introduction of the principal regulations in March 2017, TRAI has issued several amendments on October 30, 2019; January 1, 2020; June 11, 2021; November 22, 2022; August 14, 2023; and July 8, 2024, to refine the audit process and strengthen compliance norms.

These changes include defining clearer audit scopes, setting qualification criteria for empanelled auditors, and enhancing TRAI’s oversight on addressable system configurations. The amendments have also allowed the regulator to take stricter action against entities that fail to maintain or audit their systems as prescribed.