Indian mobile users, especially those with feature phones, will very soon be able to access live sports, movies, and web series without an internet connection through direct-to-mobile (D2M) broadcasting. Feature phones which are priced between Rs. 2,000 – Rs. 2,500 will make use of this technology through Saankhya Labs chipsets.
This technology will be supported by the Prasar Bharti Infrastructure. It aims to expand pan-india which will be significantly impacting revenue of telecom companies like Jio and Airtel. Initial trials of this technology have already started in Delhi and Bengaluru.
What is D2M?
The D2M technology is used in transmitting multimedia content to consumers’ smartphones without requiring an active internet connection. The Ministry of Communications has listed the versatile features of D2M technology in a letter, such as mobile-centric and seamless content delivery, hybrid broadcast, real-time and on-demand content and interactive services.
Traditionally, the D2M technology has been employed for issuing emergency alerts and assisting in disaster management. Yet the true potential of this technology lies elsewhere.
The government said that using D2M, information can be directly delivered on the mobile phone of users without straining network bandwidth. This in layman’s terms means people using feature phones in remote areas with low network bandwidth can also recieve broadcasts. Mr Chandra also said in his address that a shift to D2M would unclog the 5G networks.
How does the D2M technology work?
The D2M technology works on the same technological principal of the FM radio, where a receiver gets the transmitted signal. It is also similar to direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting in which a dish antenna receives broadcast signals directly from satellites and transmits them to a receiver, also known as a set-top box.
Interestingly, in a paper titled ‘D2M Broadcast 5G Broadband Convergence Roadmap for India’, published by IIT Kanpur in 2022, it was noted that currently available mobile devices do not support D2M technology.
To make these devices compatible, a separate baseband processing unit is needed, along with an antenna, low-noise amplifiers, baseband filters and a receiver.
