DPOs raise worries about the feasibility and cost of compliance with TRAI's new audit regulations.

New Delhi: With several stakeholders pointing out that the proposed changes could impose a compliance cost of up to Rs 1 crore on large multi-system operators (MSOs) that share infrastructure, the cable television distribution industry in India is evaluating the operational impact and cost of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2026.Instead of depending on logical separation within a common system, the draft regulations, which aim to strengthen reporting standards and increase transparency in subscriber declarations, suggest that distribution platform operators (DPOs) sharing infrastructure must function through "separate instances" of conditional access systems (CAS) and subscriber management systems (SMS).According to at least two DPOs who spoke to BestMediaInfo.com, this shift might result in a one-time expense for larger MSOs of anywhere between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore. "Depending on the size of operations and the CAS or SMS service provider involved, mandating separate instances will cost large MSOs anywhere from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore," a senior executive at one of the DPOs stated.According to the source, the price would change depending on the technology provider and the size of the subscriber base.

The spokesman claimed that even while the expense is one-time, it will have a direct impact on operators who already share infrastructure, which is a popular cost-cutting strategy used by larger MSOs.According to the industry, the majority of infrastructure-sharing agreements currently function on the basis of "logical separation," in which subscriber data for several operators is digitally separated within the same server environment. MSOs contend that operator-wise subscriber counts can already be easily identified and audited using this approach. "Infrastructure sharing still functions with distinct logical separation today. A senior executive from a major MSO stated, "Auditors can clearly separate subscriber data for each operator without any ambiguity."