AIDCF opposes TRAI's DTH license fee cut proposal

All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) has written a letter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, reiterating its concerns around the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's proposals to reduce the license fee paid by DTH operators.

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In February 2025, TRAI reiterated its earlier proposal—made in the Recommendations on License Fee and Policy Matters of DTH Services, dated 21 August 2023—to reduce the DTH license fee from the current 8 percent to 3 percent, with a further plan to phase it out entirely by 2026-27. In their letter this June to the Ministry, AIDCF argued that any reduction or waiver of license fee for DTH operators, despite their reliance on free spectrum, would deepen this inequity between the cable TV operators and DTH operators. "This move would also further exacerbate the loss to the public exchequer," they argued in the letter to the government. Currently, spectrum is allotted to DTH operators in Ku band on an administrative basis—Free of cost. According to AIDCF, the DTH operators are paying