TRAI Recommends ALTD Authorisation Framework for TV Apps

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its Recommendations on an Authorisation Framework for Application-based Linear Television Distribution (ALTD) Services on 26 October 2026. The recommendations cover the apps that bundle scheduled television channels and deliver them over the internet, including Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) services.

How the reference came about

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting wrote to the regulator on 15 December 2025 under Section 11(1)(a) of the TRAI Act, 1997, asking for a framework for FAST services that would ensure parity with existing platforms, content accountability and protection for viewers. TRAI found that such channels reach homes in three ways: as apps already loaded on television sets and other devices, as apps a viewer downloads on a mobile phone or smart TV, and through a web browser. Because the service runs on connected televisions of many kinds, the regulator chose the broader label ALTD.

The consultation

A consultation paper went out on 6 April 2026. Stakeholders sent in 207 comments and 11 counter-comments, and an Open House Discussion was held on 10 June 2026 before the Authority finalised its views. The recommendations build on TRAI's earlier advice of 21 February 2025 on service authorisations for broadcasting services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023.

What has been recommended

• ALTD Service should become a distinct sub-category under Television Channel Distribution Services, created under Section 3(1)(a) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
• The application provider is the entity that must hold the authorisation and answer for compliance.
• The authorisation should be light-touch: a national service area, initial validity of 20 years renewable for successive periods of 10 years, an application processing fee of Rs 10,000 and a one-time entry fee of Rs 1 lakh, with no authorisation fee, bank guarantee or security deposit.
• The terms should be notified as Rules under Section 56 of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, with authorisation, channel registration and reporting done through an online portal.

Obligations and consumer protection

The Ministry should keep a Master ALTD app repository, and television makers and operating system providers must ensure that only authorised ALTD apps reach their devices and app stores, filing an annual compliance report. A simple registration route has been proposed for internet-native linear television channels, and an authorised platform may carry only channels that hold a valid permission, authorisation or registration from the Central Government. The application provider is to be the first point of contact for viewer complaints. Viewership through ALTD apps should be folded into the television audience measurement system, with anonymised data allowed to be published in line with the TV Ratings Policy, 2026. The scope leaves out broadcaster-owned platforms that carry only their own group's channels and live streams on social media.