TRAI releases Recommendations on ‘Authorisation Framework for Application-based Linear Television Distribution (ALTD) Services’

1. At a Glance

• ALTD Service is a new, light-touch authorisation category that TRAI has recommended for apps, websites and similar interfaces that aggregate and distribute scheduled linear TV channels over the public Internet or other IP-based networks to Internet-enabled devices. FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) services fall inside it [1].
• It would sit as a distinct sub-category under "Television Channel Distribution Services" in the broadcasting authorisation framework under Section 3(1)(a) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 [1].
• It matters for UPSC because it sits where regulatory parity (internet TV vs. cable, DTH and similar platforms), content accountability, consumer protection, ease of doing business and the move from the Indian Telegraph Act-era licensing to the Telecommunications Act, 2023 meet [1].
• It is examinable as an example of the recommendatory role of TRAI under Section 11(1)(a) of the TRAI Act, 1997 [1].

2. Why in the News

• 26 October 2026: TRAI released its Recommendations on the "Authorisation Framework for Application-based Linear Television Distribution (ALTD) Services" (PIB Delhi) [1].
• The trigger was a reference from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) dated 15 December 2025. It asked TRAI to recommend a regulatory framework for FAST services that ensures parity, content accountability and consumer protection [1].

3. Background & Evolution

• Driving rationale: TRAI found that several applications aggregate and distribute scheduled linear TV channels in three ways [1]:
• as pre-installed apps on TV sets and other devices;
• as downloadable mobile or smart-TV apps;

• as web-based apps in browsers.

• Because connected TVs widen the ways such services are delivered, TRAI broadened the term from "FAST" to "ALTD Services" (including FAST) [1].

• Chronology:
• 21 Feb 2025: TRAI recommendations on the "Framework for Service Authorisations for provision of Broadcasting Services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023". This is the parent framework that the ALTD recommendations build on and complement [1].
• 15 Dec 2025: MIB reference to TRAI under Section 11(1)(a), TRAI Act, 1997 [1].
• 6 Apr 2026: TRAI Consultation Paper, "Formulation of a Regulatory Framework for Application-based Linear Television Distribution (ALTD) Services (Including Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) Services)" [1].
• TRAI received 207 comments and 11 counter-comments and uploaded them to its website [1].
• 10 Jun 2026: Open House Discussion (OHD) [1].

• 26 Oct 2026: Final Recommendations released [1].

• Statutory backdrop: In the Telecommunications Act, 2023, Section 3 ("Authorisation") is in Chapter II [2]. The India Code copy of the Act carries a footnote that sub-sections (1) and (6) of Section 3 were brought into force by S.O. 3368(E) dated 23 June 2026 [2]. (I took this from a search summary of the India Code PDF and did not check the footnote directly. Verify it before relying on it.)

4. Core Static Facts

Parameter	Fact
Recommending body	Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) [1]
Referring ministry	Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (not DoT, not MeitY) [1]
Basis of reference	Section 11(1)(a), TRAI Act, 1997 [1]
Proposed legal home	Section 3(1)(a), Telecommunications Act, 2023, as a sub-category of "Television Channel Distribution Services" [1]
Terms and conditions notified as	Rules under Section 56, Telecommunications Act, 2023 [1]
Primary authorised entity	Application Provider [1]
Service area	National [1]
Validity	20 years initially, renewable for successive 10-year periods [1]
Application processing fee	₹10,000 [1]
One-time entry fee	₹1 lakh [1]
Authorisation fee / bank guarantee / security deposit	None [1]
Process interface	Online portal for authorisation, channel registration and reporting [1]
Other stakeholders given obligations	OEMs, Operating System (OS) providers, and broadcasters or content owners [1]
Audience measurement	ALTD viewership to be included in the television audience measurement framework [1]
Registry	MIB to maintain a "Master ALTD …" list or registry (the excerpt is cut off here) [1]

Definition of an ALTD Service [1]:

• It aggregates linear TV channels approved by the Central Government, including "Internet-native linear television channels" with an approved name and logo, plus the provider's own platform service channels.
• It distributes them to users with or without value-added services, including on-demand audio-visual content.
• Delivery is over the public Internet or other IP-based networks through apps, websites or similar consumer interfaces, on Internet-enabled devices.
• Scope covers: development, deployment and management of such applications for users in India.
• Excluded:
• broadcaster-owned platforms that distribute only their own channels, or those of a subsidiary or holding company;
• live streams on social media intermediaries.

What "authorisation" means in the Act: The Telecommunications Bill, 2023 defines "authorisation" as permission to provide telecommunication services, establish networks or possess radio equipment. It also lets the Centre exempt entities from authorisation in the public interest [3]. (This is bill text; check it against the enacted Act [2].)

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Legal / Constitutional

• It moves internet-delivered linear TV from a regulatory grey zone into a statutory authorisation under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, rather than a licence under older laws [1][2].
• Notifying the terms as Rules under Section 56 brings uniformity with other broadcasting authorisations [1].
• The exclusions (broadcaster-owned platforms, social-media live streams) draw a line between "distribution platform" regulation and intermediary or content-owner regulation [1].
• TRAI's output is only recommendatory (Section 11(1)(a)). It becomes binding only when the Central Government notifies Rules [1].

Economic

• The low entry barriers are meant to promote innovation and ease of doing business:
• ₹10,000 processing fee and ₹1 lakh entry fee;

• no annual authorisation fee, bank guarantee or security deposit [1].

• The terms are designed to reflect the "application-based and infrastructure-light" nature of ALTD, in contrast with capital-heavy distribution platforms like DTH [1].

• Counting ALTD viewership in television audience measurement affects how advertising revenue is shared between legacy and internet platforms [1].

Scientific / Technological

• Delivery spans connected TVs, smart-TV and mobile apps, and web browsers [1].
• OEMs and OS providers get obligations because they control pre-installed apps and placement on the device [1].
• The "future-ready" framing aims to stay technology-neutral as IP delivery replaces RF and satellite delivery [1].

Ethical / Governance

• Content accountability: only Central Government-approved channels may be carried, and Internet-native channels need an approved name and logo [1].
• Consumer protection measures are built into the framework [1].
• An online portal for authorisation and reporting supports transparency and lowers compliance cost [1].
• Regulatory parity: TRAI was asked to make sure similar services face comparable obligations whatever the delivery technology [1].

Administrative

• Single-window national authorisation, rather than state- or area-based, lowers fragmentation [1].
• Implementation depends on MIB maintaining the ALTD master registry and on the Rules being notified [1].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• 15 Dec 2025: MIB reference to TRAI on FAST services [1].
• 6 Apr 2026: TRAI Consultation Paper on ALTD (including FAST) [1].
• 10 Jun 2026: Open House Discussion [1].
• 23 Jun 2026: Section 3(1) and 3(6) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 reportedly brought into force (S.O. 3368(E)). Unverified; see Section 3 above [2].
• 26 Oct 2026: Final ALTD Recommendations released [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• "ALTD" stands for Application-based Linear Television Distribution [1].
• FAST = Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television. It is a subset of ALTD services [1].
• The reference to TRAI came from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on 15 December 2025 [1].
• The reference was made under Section 11(1)(a) of the TRAI Act, 1997 [1].
• ALTD is to be a sub-category of "Television Channel Distribution Services" under Section 3(1)(a), Telecommunications Act, 2023 [1].
• ALTD terms and conditions are to be notified as Rules under Section 56 of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 [1].
• Validity: 20 years initially, renewable for successive 10-year periods [1].
• Fees: ₹10,000 application processing fee and ₹1 lakh one-time entry fee. No authorisation fee, bank guarantee or security deposit [1].
• Service area: national [1].
• Primary responsible entity: the Application Provider, not the OEM or the OS provider [1].
• Excluded: broadcaster-owned platforms carrying only their own or group channels, and live streams on social media intermediaries [1].
• Consultation: the paper was issued on 6 April 2026, drew 207 comments and 11 counter-comments, and the OHD was held on 10 June 2026 [1].
• Parent framework: TRAI's broadcasting service authorisation recommendations of 21 February 2025 [1].
• ALTD viewership is to be included in the television audience measurement framework [1].

8. Is It Fair That ALTD Apps Pay So Little Compared With DTH?

• The fee gap is large today
• A DTH operator currently pays an authorisation fee of 8% of AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue, meaning the revenue the government counts when it charges a licence fee) [6].
• Under TRAI's 2025 framework, a DTH operator would also have to give a bank guarantee of ₹5 crore or 20% of two quarters' fee, whichever is higher [6].
• An ALTD app pays a one-time ₹1 lakh entry fee. It pays no annual fee and gives no bank guarantee [1].

• So cable and DTH players can say the internet rival gets the same audience on easier terms.

• But the gap is meant to shrink from the DTH side

• In February 2025 TRAI recommended cutting the DTH fee from 8% to 3% of AGR, and then to zero after FY 2026-27 [6].
• If the government accepts this, DTH and ALTD will both pay no annual fee. The real difference will then be only the bank guarantee.

• This only works if the government notifies the DTH fee cut. TRAI's advice binds no one until Rules are made (see Section 5 of the note).

• The honest answer: parity in fees is not the main test

• DTH uses satellite capacity and spectrum. An ALTD app rides on someone else's internet connection. Charging them the same fee would treat different costs as equal.
• The better test of parity is whether both carry the same content rules and give consumers the same protection. That part of the press release is cut off, so the note cannot yet judge it.

9. One TV Screen, Three Different Rulebooks

• The same screen will show content under different laws
• Cable TV is governed by the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.
• OTT platforms (internet video services like Netflix) fall outside that Act and are governed by MeitY's IT Rules [4].
• The Parliamentary Standing Committee said this "has led to differential content standards" between the two, and called for the gap to be fixed [4].

• ALTD now adds a third route: an authorisation under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 [1]. On a smart TV, one remote can move a viewer between all three regimes.

• The social-media exclusion leaves a back door open

• Live streams on social media intermediaries are kept out of ALTD [1]. An intermediary is a platform that only hosts what users upload, such as YouTube.
• PRS pointed out the same gap in the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023. Intermediaries get safe-harbour protection under the IT Act, 2000 (they are not liable for user content), and must act only when content is reported [5].
• So content may be blocked on a regulated platform but allowed on an intermediary [5].

• For ALTD, this means a channel that cannot get government approval could still stream live, 24x7, on a social-media platform.

• The bigger law that would fix this is still a draft

• The draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 would replace the 1995 Cable Act and bring TV, radio and OTT under one law [5].
• Until a single law of that kind exists, ALTD fixes one part of the problem rather than the whole of it.

10. Does 'Government-Approved Channels Only' Threaten Free Speech?

• The strongest objection
• ALTD apps may carry only channels approved by the Central Government. Even Internet-native channels need an approved name and logo [1].
• On the internet, anyone could start a channel before. Now the State decides which channels get onto the main TV distribution apps.

• PRS raised similar worries about the draft Broadcasting Bill, 2023 [5]:

  • under the Bill, the Central Government itself decides whether content breaks the programme code, "including news critical of the government", which PRS called a possible "conflict of interest";
  • the Bill "does not provide an appellate mechanism" (no right to appeal) against the government's orders;
  • "public interest" is used as a ground for restriction, but it is not one of the reasonable restrictions listed in Article 19(2);
  • unclear rules can create a "chilling effect", where people censor themselves out of fear.

• What is right about the objection

• Article 19(1)(a) protects freedom of speech. Article 19(2) lists the only grounds on which it can be limited. A pre-approval system that does not state clear grounds and offer an appeal is open to the same criticism PRS made [5].

• The ALTD excerpt does not say whether a refused channel can appeal. That is a real gap until the full recommendations are read [1].

• The answer to it

• Satellite TV channels already need Central Government permission. If an app could carry unapproved channels, a channel refused on satellite could simply move to an app and reach the same living-room TV.
• The approval rule also applies only to ALTD platforms. Social-media streams are excluded [1], so a creator can still publish without approval, just not on an ALTD platform.
• Balanced view for Mains: approval for ALTD carriage makes sense for parity. The safeguard it needs is clear, Article 19(2)-based grounds for refusal and an appeal route. These should be written into the Section 56 Rules.

11. Too Many Regulators, and a Parent Framework Still Pending

• Responsibility is spread across many offices
• The Standing Committee found that TRAI, DoT and MIB each regulate different parts of cable TV, and operators report to different authorities [4].
• It also found weak ground-level checks and under-reporting of subscribers by cable operators [4].
• ALTD adds more actors: the Application Provider holds the authorisation, but OEMs (device makers) and OS providers also carry duties [1].

• OEMs and OS providers do not hold the authorisation, so it is not yet clear how a duty on them would be enforced. The excerpt does not say [1].

• ALTD rests on a framework that is not yet in force

• ALTD is built as a sub-category inside TRAI's February 2025 broadcasting authorisation framework [1][6].
• That framework moves broadcasting from licences under Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 to authorisations under Section 3(1)(a) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 [6].
• Until the government notifies Rules under Section 56 for the parent framework, the ALTD category has no legal home to sit in [1][6].
• The note itself flags that even the commencement of Section 3(1) is unverified [2].

12. What MIB and TRAI Should Do Next

• MIB should make broadcasters offer channels to all platforms
• The Standing Committee asked MIB for a framework "compelling broadcasters to make their content accessible on all platforms" [4].
• This matters for ALTD. Broadcaster-owned apps are excluded from ALTD [1], so a big broadcaster can keep its popular channels only on its own app and refuse them to rival ALTD apps.

• Light-touch entry helps little if new apps cannot get the channels viewers want.

• MIB should push one law for all screens

• The Committee said cable TV needs a comprehensive Act and that the cable–OTT gap must be fixed [4].

• The draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 was meant to do this [5]. MIB should take it forward, fixing the concerns PRS raised: no appeal, vague grounds and criminal penalties [5].

• The Central Government should write appeal rights into the ALTD Rules

• When the Section 56 Rules are notified [1], they should list the grounds for refusing a channel, tied to Article 19(2), and provide an appeal. This answers the free-speech concern above.

• MIB and MeitY should coordinate on who governs what

• The Committee already asked MIB to work with MeitY on a digital solution for under-reporting and weak oversight of cable operators [4].
• ALTD sits next to MeitY's IT Rules for OTT and intermediaries. The two ministries need a written boundary, so the same content does not face two different standards [4][5].

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: DTH authorisation fee is 8% of AGR now; TRAI recommends cutting it to 3% and then to zero after FY 2026-27. ALTD pays only a ₹1 lakh one-time entry fee [6][1]
• Data: 207 comments and 11 counter-comments were received on the ALTD consultation paper [1]
• Report/Committee: Standing Committee on Communications and IT, "Regulation of Cable Television in India", Feb 2024. It flagged unequal content standards between cable and OTT and asked that broadcasters' content be available on all platforms [4]
• Law/Case: Article 19(1)(a) and 19(2); Section 3(1)(a) and Section 56, Telecommunications Act, 2023; Section 11(1)(a), TRAI Act, 1997; Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995; draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 [5]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-II: Statutory, regulatory and quasi-judicial bodies (TRAI); government policies and interventions; transparency and accountability.
• GS-III: Infrastructure (communications); science and technology developments in daily life; the role of media in internal security challenges (content accountability).
• Possible question stems: 1. Convergence of broadcasting and the internet demands regulatory parity without stifling innovation. Critically examine TRAI's recommended framework for Application-based Linear Television Distribution services. 2. Discuss the shift of broadcasting authorisation to the Telecommunications Act, 2023. What are its implications for regulatory certainty and the ease of doing business in the media sector? 3. Should device makers and operating-system providers carry regulatory obligations for content distribution? Discuss with reference to recent recommendations on connected-TV services.

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• Telecommunications Act, 2023 (Sections 3 and 56): the statutory base for all new authorisations.
• TRAI Act, 1997 (Section 11): TRAI's recommendatory and regulatory functions, and how far they bind the government.
• TRAI's 21 Feb 2025 broadcasting authorisation recommendations: the parent framework ALTD builds on.
• Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995: the legacy distribution regime that ALTD is meant to be on par with.
• IT Rules, 2021 (Digital Media Ethics Code): how OTT and intermediary regulation differs from ALTD.
• Television audience measurement / ratings policy: ALTD viewership is to be included in it.
• Net neutrality and the regulation of OTT communication services: the wider debate over internet-delivered services.
• DTH / HITS / IPTV authorisations: the other "Television Channel Distribution Services", useful for comparison.

16. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Polity): TRAI is the body making these recommendations; knowing its advisory role explains why the Rules still need government notification.
• Adjusted gross revenue (Economy): The note compares DTH's fee on this revenue base with the ALTD flat entry fee.
• IT Rules 2021 (Polity): OTT and intermediaries fall under these rules, a different regime from ALTD authorisation under the Telecommunications Act.
• Restrictions on freedom of speech (Polity): The free-speech objection to government-approved channels rests on the Article 19(2) grounds for restriction.
• Barriers to entry (Economy): Low fees and no bank guarantee are meant to lower entry costs for new internet TV players.
• Ease of doing business (Economy): Light-touch, online, single-window national authorisation is framed as improving ease of doing business.

17. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Wrong ministry: the reference came from MIB, not DoT or MeitY [1].
• Wrong Act: the authorisation would be under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 (Section 3(1)(a)). TRAI made the recommendation under the TRAI Act, 1997 (Section 11(1)(a)). Do not mix the two up [1].
• FAST and ALTD are not the same thing: ALTD is the umbrella term, and FAST is included within it [1].
• Validity: it is 20 + 10-year renewals, not 20 + 20 and not 10 + 10. Also, there is no authorisation fee or bank guarantee, only processing and entry fees [1].
• Scope: broadcaster-owned apps carrying only their own or group channels and social-media live streams are excluded. The authorisation holder is the Application Provider, even though OEMs and OS providers also have obligations [1].