Direct-to-Mobile could help harmonise cellular, broadcasting spectrum, boost customer experience: Niti Aayog's Karandikar
New Delhi, June 10
Direct-to-Mobile technology could help harmonise cellular and broadcasting spectrum and improve customer experience while supporting applications beyond entertainment and broadcasting, NITI Aayog Member Abhay Karandikar toldon Wednesday.
"I do see this and I believe that this will be an important step forward not only from the broadcasting and entertainment point of view, but also for various other applications. This will go a long way in harmonising the cellular spectrum along with the broadcasting spectrum to give a very improved customer experience," he said.
Speaking to ANI in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of an event where Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Karandikar said that D2M has the potential to become an important component of India's future converged telecom network as the country explores technologies aimed at improving connectivity and communication services.
He said satellite communications are also expected to become part of the broader converged connectivity ecosystem in the future. "Ultimately, it is again going to be in a converged scenario because satellite will also eventually get integrated with all of that," he said.
The remarks came after IIT Kanpur and BSNL signed an MoU to collaborate on various digital technologies, including Direct-to-Mobile broadcasting technology.
"I think this MoU, IIT Kanpur and BSNL have signed for collaborations on various digital technologies, including Direct-to-Mobile broadcast," Karandikar said.
Asked about the commercial deployment of D2M technology, Karandikar said the technology is currently in the pilot-testing stage and will require further evaluation before any commercial rollout can be considered.
"It is not at a commercial stage. They have to first do the pilot testing to see the feasibility and then develop products around that and then think about doing a commercial rollout. So right now it is more at the pilot-testing phase," he said.
Karandikar said pilot testing would help assess the feasibility of the technology and support the development of products and applications before decisions are taken on wider deployment.
He also welcomed BSNL's participation in the initiative and said the involvement of a telecom operator would help evaluate whether a viable commercial model could emerge from D2M technology.
"Since I have been advocating it for a long time, it is a good thing that BSNL, as a telecom operator, has come forward to pilot testing and deciding whether commercial sense for a telecom operator can be made out of it," he said.
According to Karandikar, D2M technology has the potential to extend beyond traditional broadcasting and entertainment applications and could play a broader role in India's evolving communications ecosystem.
The collaboration between IIT Kanpur and BSNL is expected to facilitate research and pilot testing of D2M technology as stakeholders assess its technical feasibility and commercial viability before any wider deployment.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Finally some real innovation! 🎉 I remember waiting for Doordarshan news on TV. Now if we can get direct broadcast on mobile without internet, it'll be a game changer for rural education and emergency alerts. But I'm worried about spectrum allocation—hope it doesn't become another bureaucratic mess.
Interesting but let's not get carried away. The pilot testing phase could take years, and BSNL's track record with execution is not the best. Also, what about spectrum fees? Telecom operators will fight this if it eats into their data revenue. Hope the government thinks this through properly.
This could be a boon for our farmers and students in villages! 🚜📚 No more buffering issues for educational content. But I hope they also focus on content quality—we don't want more spammy broadcasts. And please, make it accessible to feature phones too, not just smartphones.
As someone who works in telecom, I'm cautiously optimistic. Direct-to-Mobile could reduce network congestion during live events like cricket matches or election results. But the real challenge is making it work alongside existing 5G networks. Let's see how the pilot goes—IIT Kanpur is trustworthy.
Sounds promising but I'm skeptical about privacy and security. If D2M broadcasts directly to phones, can anyone intercept it? What about targeted ads? We need clear regulations before commercial rollout. Also, will this increase mobile hardware costs? Already phones are too expensive for many Indians. 😔
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