TRAI mandates monthly and quarterly performance reports from DPOs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued an Order under Section 12 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, requiring Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs), including Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS), Multi-System Operators (MSOs), and Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators, to submit Performance Monitoring Reports (PMRs) on both a monthly and quarterly basis.

Previously, under an order dated 24 July 2008, only DTH operators were required to submit quarterly performance monitoring reports (Q-PMRs). This requirement was later extended in June 2019 to include MSOs and HITS operators, alongside DTH providers.

 Within fifteen DPOs must now produce a Monthly Performance Monitoring Report in the designated format within ten days of the end of each month in accordance with the updated framework.days following the conclusion of each quarter, they must also provide a Quarterly Performance Monitoring Report in the format specified.

TRAI has stated,"Every service provider shall publish, for the information of the consumers, its performance with respect to the benchmark of QoS parameters specified in regulation 4, regulation 6, regulation 7, regulation 9 and regulation 10, as applicable, in such manner and format, as may be directed by the Authority from time to time."

Some relief has been provided for smaller operators. DPOs with fewer than 30,000 active subscribers as of the last day of the previous financial year may continue to opt out of submitting quarterly reports.

According to TRAI, the objective of the reporting framework is to ensure effective compliance monitoring, enhance transparency, protect consumer interests, and promote the orderly development of the broadcasting and cable TV services sector.

The Authority further noted that the revised formats and submission timelines would provide a more reliable basis for evaluating regulatory compliance by distribution operators. This, in turn, is expected to strengthen consumer confidence and improve the identification of service-related anomalies.