TRAI recommends scrapping of DTH licence fee after FY27
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) that the government should discontinue charging direct-to-home (DTH) operators a licence fee after the fiscal year 2026–2027 to ensure the sector remains viable in the long-term.
In its recommendations titled ‘Licence Fee and Policy Matters of DTH Services’, the TRAI has suggested that the licence fee for DTH operators should be brought down to zero in the next three years.
The TRAI contended that the DTH platforms should be treated at par with other regulated and unregulated distribution platforms like multi-system operators (MSOs), headend in the sky (HITS) operators, IPTV providers, DD Free Dish, and OTT services that don’t pay any licence fee.
In the last few years, the DTH sector has been losing ground to DD Free Dish, the free DTH platform of Prasar Bharati, and OTT platforms. As of March 2023, the active subscriber base of the four pay DTH platforms stood at 65.25 million.
Reacting to the TRAI's recommendations, a DishTV spokesperson said, «The issue of consideration of the DTH license fee has been pending for a long time.
We are extremely thankful to the TRAI for having considered the issues raised by the DTH industry and recommending a no license fee regime after 3 years, bringing the license fee down to 3% from the current level of 8% for the next 3 years. The recommendation of TRAI, when accepted by MIB, will bring a level playing field for DTH operators among all distribution platforms.»
Till the licence fee becomes zero, the TRAI has recommended that the DTH licence fee be decreased to 3% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) from 8% currently.
The DTH industry has long demanded that there be a level
