Key Points

The panel brought into focus India's unique opportunity to leapfrog legacy broadcast infrastructure by embracing Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) technology from semiconductor chips to AI powered Laptops.

The panel included: Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Apurva Chandra, former Secretary, I&B and Health, Chris Ripley, President & CEO, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Madeleine Noland, President, ATSC, Victor Lee, MBC Korea, Vinosh James, Qualcomm India.

Moderated by Gunjan Gupta, Director, Technology Transformation, Deloitte India, the session focused on the intersection of policy, technology, and market innovation in reshaping digital broadcasting.

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology emphasised that India has the opportunity to skip traditional digital terrestrial broadcasting and adopt D2M directly, thanks to rapid technological evolution and policy readiness. "India missed the digital terrestrial era but can now leapfrog to Direct-to-Mobile broadcasting," he declared.

With over 1.2 billion mobile subscriptions and 350 million users still on feature phones, Karandikar highlighted how D2M can deliver education, entertainment, and emergency alerts to underserved populations. He cited India's world-leading mobile data usage, averaging 25-30 GB/month per user, as a clear indicator of readiness.

Importantly, he spotlighted indigenous innovation--particularly by Sankhya Labs, which developed D2M-capable chipsets. "The device challenge is being overcome. Now, the path is open for nationwide deployment," he said.

Apurva Chandra, former Secretary, I&B and Health underlined D2M's potential beyond entertainment. Drawing from his experience in the Health Ministry, he described rural connectivity limitations where health apps couldn't function. "Even with smartphones, access to apps in rural India is still unreliable. D2M can address this gap," he said.

Chandra also addressed policy hurdles, citing past experiences where FM capabilities were disabled in mobile phones despite public value. He advocated for appropriate policy measures for D2M compatibility with new devices: "We must formulate in national interest--this is not about private profit but public good."

He further elaborated on the educational potential of D2M, particularly for households with single televisions. "When a single TV in the house is dominated by the patriarch, how do children access educational content? D2M brings personalized access directly to their hands.

Chris Ripley, President & CEO, Sinclair Broadcast Group provided global context, reflecting on the US transition to ATSC 3.0. While the US has 80% ATSC coverage, he explained that limited spectrum and legacy infrastructure prevent full mobile integration. "India can leapfrog where others crawled," he said.

Ripley compared India's opportunity to the runaway success of Freedish in the TV sector. "This is Freedish for mobile--a free, ad-supported platform for over a billion mobile users," he stated. He listed promising use cases being piloted in the US, including: UHD sports streaming, Automotive software updates and Enhanced GPS and timing systems.

"But India has the unique advantage of spectrum availability and device innovation, making mobile-first broadcasting a reality," he noted. Ripley concluded that the business case is strong, and PPP models will attract serious investors: "This is a commercially viable national-scale opportunity."

Madeleine Noland, President, ATSC emphasised the importance of open, agile standards that can adapt to India's needs. "Open standards are the foundation--not a hurdle," she said. She cited Brazil's successful ATSC 3.0 rollout as a model for India to consider.

She expressed ATSC's willingness to work with Indian stakeholders to evolve standards suited for India's use cases--whether it's multi-language education or public safety. "Each country has its own requirements. The Indian D2M case will shape how we evolve next-generation standards," she affirmed.

Crucially, Noland emphasized that entertainment services are essential for daily usage and platform stickiness. "You need cricket and serials. If people don't use the service every day, they won't be there during emergencies. Entertainment drives adoption."

Victor Lee, MBC Korea highlighted MBC Korea's innovative technology developed for Hybrid RTK leveraging ATSC3 while Qualcomm India's Vinosh James argued on the need for a standards based approach citing European experiments with 5G broadcasting.

Gunjan Gupta, Director, Technology Transformation, Deloitte India, summarized the panel, "Technology is inevitable, but inclusive ecosystems and smart regulation will decide its speed. India can define how the world consumes content in the mobile-first era."

Prof. Karandikar's parting message captured the spirit of the summit, "From entertainment to education, from alerts to access, D2M can serve as a universal gateway. It's time for India to lead this broadcast renaissance."

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJMJOrEBHAG/?igsh=ZmNxMXRyNGZpZmZh

WAVES Summit 2025 also saw D2M demos go viral with a reel of Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi in conversation with eminent Bollywood Actor, Director Aamir Khan

https://x.com/karandi65/status/1918693785199866200

Elaborating on how D2M at WAVES was an inflexion point for India, Prof Karandikar in his comments on social media platforms highlighted how D2M as a joint project of IIT Kanpur and Prasar Bharati had come a long way.

https://x.com/shashidigital/status/1918865123004870987

Echoing his comments former CEO of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati hailed the teams of IIT Kanpur, Prasar Bharati and erstwhile SaankhyaLabs on how India's first fabless chip design for D2M is spawning a new class of devices and services where India can lead and show the way to the rest of the world with global semiconductor majors like Intel evincing interest.

- ANI