The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Thursday (February 5, 2026) issued the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2026, following consultations with stakeholders.
“During various interactions with the Authority, the stakeholders had highlighted the need for improving audit related provisions in the Interconnection Regulations 2017 (as amended) and the audit manual; reducing repetitive audits of DPOs (Distribution Platform Operators), resulting in resource wastage, operational disruption, and diminished stakeholders’ confidence in the audit process; and incorporating provisions related to infrastructure sharing in the audit framework,” said TRAI.
They also sought measures to enhance the accountability of auditors and categorising auditors based on their experience to ensure credibility of auditors.
Based on the consultations, TRAI finalised the amendment regulations. The salient features include: Clearly defined timelines for audits; wherein distributors have to conduct audit and submit audit report to broadcasters by September 30 every year; Audit is to be done on financial year basis in place of calendar year; and Broadcasters can depute their representative during audit to ensure transparency and credibility of the audit process.
“If broadcasters find inadequacies/discrepancies in audit report, they can seek clarifications from the auditor through DPO. Auditors must clarify the same in a time-bound manner. If broadcaster is not satisfied with these clarifications, it can get the audit conducted at its own cost, after obtaining approval of the Authority. In case a broadcaster does not receive the audit report by September 30 from the distributor, it can cause audit of such a distributor,” said TRAI.
The requirement of annual audit at DPOs cost has been made optional for distributors with fewer than 30,000 subscribers. However, broadcasters can get such DPOs audited at broadcasters’ cost. The amended audit manual will be issued in alignment with the updated regulatory framework shortly.
The amendments are aimed at ensuring enhanced credibility and accountability in the audit process and reduce the instances of repetitive audits without compromising stakeholder trust.
Published – February 06, 2026 04:04 am IST
