New Delhi: The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) is planning a pilot test for direct-to-mobile (D2M) broadcast transmissions. However, talks of the pilot remain at early stages for a technology that has so far received considerable pushback from telecom operators and other technology companies. D2M broadcasting, as defined in a paper by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur in 2022, proposes a mechanism for multimedia broadcasting without relying on data connectivity. The mechanism is already in use for emergency broadcasts of government notifications, but the latest proposal showcases its use in bringing television and multimedia content broadcasting directly to smartphones, thereby bringing content-driven services to users who still do not have direct access to mobile data. Information and broadcasting secretary Apurva Chandra said that talks of a pilot D2M broadcasting project have commenced “across 19 cities using the digital terrestrial transmission network of Prasar Bharati." Industry challenges, however, will persist. “The pilot launch will be the first step—you need a certain chip in devices. We’ve to see how that adoption takes place. Then, we’ve to see how much content is being consumed—we’ll take all of this into consideration before launching at a mass scale. As of now, we’re not mandating any smartphone company or telecom operator, since this is only a pilot," Chandra added. The move means that in order to support the technology, smartphones will require either a specialized chip, or an add-on dongle. Bengaluru-headquartered Saankhya Labs on Tuesday unveiled one such chip, claiming to hold the potential to tap millions of users for D2M broadcasting. “The key to bringing the technology to a wider audience will lie in achieving scale. We are already in talks with original design manufacturers (ODMs), but we won’t need to partner with chipmakers for this. Our objective is to reach a scale of 10 million-odd users to distribute the technology with, which should be possible given that the market has over 1 billion devices and users. At such a scale, the addition of our chip in Android smartphones will only lead to a cost addition of around $2.5 (~ 200) per device," said Parag Naik, chief executive of Saankhya Labs. “Our plug-and-play dongle, which will also support D2M broadcasts, is already being marketed in the US, and we’ll bring it to India in about six months to one year at around 600-800," Naik added. Saankhya’s plans, at present, remain at a very nascent stage, and will hinge upon talks of the Centre backing a pilot D2M broadcast in the coming months. Naik did not name any ODM or brand partner that they have associated with or received interest from so far, stating that they remain “in talks" at the moment. Industry stakeholders, too, have raised concerns. S. P. Kochhar, director-general of industry body, Cellular Operators Association of India (Coai) on Monday said that concerns around the technology remain “on the aspects of level playing field, spectrum allocation, network integration and regulatory and cost arbitrage, in favour of the proposed public-private partnership model and against the telecom service providers." “Building a dedicated D2M network by earmarking spectrum specifically for the broadcasting infrastructure, providing competing or complementary services, would lead to a breach of level playing field. Offloading cellular networks also requires a close integration of broadcasting capabilities with cellular networks, so that the spectrum and infrastructure can be optimally leveraged for broadcasting and IMT services as per the demand. A dedicated D2M network, built by a third party, will not be able to achieve these aspects optimally," Kochhar further added. A senior telecom industry consultant, who requested anonymity, further added that value-added services such as content subscriptions, which are offered along with bundled data plans, could be hit with D2M broadcasts infringing upon an area where “telcos can earn". “The entire telecom industry is principally against any form of D2M broadcasts, and multiple entities including chip and infrastructure makers have clarified that it would not be as simple a move as just adding a chip and a feature for users. India’s cost of data is also dwindling, which is further pushing telcos to protest against the D2M pilot," the consultant said. Chandra, however, affirmed that a legitimate use case remains for D2M broadcasting. “There are about 280 million households in the country, of which only about 190 million have TV. This means that still, nearly 90 million households do not have televisions. At the same time, the number of smartphones in India is 800 million, and is expected to rise to 1 billion. This is why D2M broadcasts offer tremendous opportunities. This can also lead to an increase in data consumption, which is expected to reach 43.7 exabytes per month this year. Nearly 69% of this data consumption occurs because of video content streaming. Even if 25-30% of it can be offloaded to D2M broadcasts, this can tremendously help reduce loads on 5G networks," he said. Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world to know more. Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away!
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