Digital radio needs 10 years to become profitable; license fees waived initially to ease transition: Anil Kumar Lahoti of TRAI
In an interview with Storyboard18, Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti outlined measures to ensure smooth rollout of India’s national digital radio broadcasting policy. He also talked about ease of doing businesses and auditing for smaller DPOs.
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India’s digital radio journey will take nearly 10 years to achieve profitability, according to Anil Kumar Lahoti, Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). In an interview with Storyboard18, Lahoti laid out the regulatory roadmap for the sector and emphasized the careful balancing act required to nurture growth while protecting smaller players.
Last week, the Authority released its recommendations on “Formulating a Digital Radio Broadcast Policy for Private Radio Broadcasters”, along with reserve prices for commencing digital radio services in key Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kanpur and Nagpur. According to TRAI, digital radio services should initially be launched in simulcast mode by new broadcasters, while existing analog FM broadcasters may also be allowed to migrate voluntarily. The simulcast model will enable the transmission of one analog channel, three digital channels and one data channel on the assigned spot frequency.
The national digital radio broadcasting policy, now in consultation, addresses long-standing industry debates over technology standards. Initially, TRAI’s 2018 recommendations allowed broadcasters to choose any technology. However, industry stakeholders have now strongly advocated for a single pre-decided technology, which they see as critical for a smooth rollout. “Otherwise, there will be no takeoff,” Lahoti noted.
Read more: TRAI’s Digital Radio Push Faces Static: Broadcasters warn of high costs, low receiver penetration
The policy also envisions simulcast operations, allowing broadcasters to transmit content in both analog and digital formats. This approach is essential because the existing receiver ecosystem- home TVs, personal devices, and automobile entertainment system- is overwhelmingly analog.
Transitioning to digital will not be immediate; personal devices may take 5–10 years to fully convert, while vehicles could retain analog systems for their entire 15-year lifespan. Simulcast ensures broadcasters have a revenue stream during this transition, the Chairman pointed out.
"...we have analyzed this in great detail and have estimated that they (radio players) will take almost ten years time to break even and start earning good profits (while transitioning to digital).
Therefore we have taken into account only the revenue which would come in the last five years of the 15 year license to be taken into account while determining what they should pay for acquiring the spectrum, and also to give them relief to pay any additional license fee on account of digital radio in this first growing years."
"In the first five years, on account of digital radio, they are not required to pay any licence fee and out of the total licence fee, instead of distributing it evenly, we have said the next five years you have to pay only one third of the licence fee," he explained.
So, unlike the present practice when a operator acquires a spectrum they have to pay entire spectrum cost upfront, TRAI has given multiple options. "...they can either exercise the choice of paying upfront, or they can pay in annual installments, in which case they would actually be paying for the analogue in the equal annual instalments. But for the digital, we have given a very graduated path so that they can afford it."
Another key recommendation involves ten minutes of news every hour on digital radio, aimed at creating a structured starting point for news broadcasting. Previously, radio operators were restricted to rebroadcasting All India Radio content.
Lahoti sees this as a “good starter” to build content variety while maintaining regulatory oversight.
Audits of smaller broadcasters
TRAI recently issued the draft of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2025, proposing sweeping changes to the audit framework, compliance timelines, and infrastructure sharing rules governing the broadcasting distribution ecosystem.
The proposed amendments seek to bring audit cycles in line with the financial year instead of the calendar year. Under the new framework, distributors of television channels will be required to conduct annual audits of their subscriber management systems, conditional access systems, and digital rights management platforms for the preceding financial year.
The draft also retains the mandatory requirement for annual audits but introduces significant relief for smaller operators. Distributors with fewer than 30,000 active subscribers will not be compelled to conduct mandatory audits, though they are encouraged to do so voluntarily. This measure, TRAI said, has been designed to reduce compliance burdens on smaller operators who face capacity and cost constraints, while still preserving transparency in reporting. TRAI has invited written comments from stakeholders by October 14, 2025. The regulations are scheduled to come into effect from April 1, 2026.
While smaller multi-system operators (MSOs) with fewer than 30,000 subscribers are exempt from mandatory audits, Lahoti stressed that audits remain optional for those who want to verify compliance. “Smaller players are already under stress; we must address their survival while sustaining the industry’s overall growth,” he said.
The Chairman told Storyboard18 that over the last several months, the TRAI officers had firsthand interactions with the smaller MSOs and even LCOs, at regional level and it was found that it (auditing) is a cost burden for them.
Responding to criticisms that the government has mismanaged the broadcasting sector, Lahoti maintained a neutral stance, “TRAI listens to all stakeholders. Broadcasting has thousands of players with conflicting interests. Our role is to ensure growth of the sector while balancing the concerns of smaller players with limited power.”
On linear television, Lahoti noted that India has over 100 million households without TVs and mentioned about the potential growth in TV penetration. “A smart TV is costlier than a linear one and involves recurring data costs. Low-end consumers are likely to start with linear TV, which is economical and allows free access to Doordarshan.”
