Now, what if your smartphone could stream live TV, emergency alerts or video content directly from satellites or broadcast towers – without relying on mobile data or Wi-Fi – much like how TVs pick up over-the-air signals? That is the promise of direct-to-mobile (D2M) technology, which allows phones to receive broadcast content from satellites or broadcast towers.
India is among the first countries to leverage the technology. Last January, the ministry of information and broadcasting said it was planning a pilot test for D2M broadcast transmissions which, as outlined in a 2022 paper by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, does not depend on data connectivity. The approach is already in use for emergency government notifications.
And on 28 April, Lava International and HMD said they are planning commercial launches of D2M-ready phones for Indian consumers even as trials are under way. HMD is working with IIT Kanpur-incubated FreeStream Technologies, Tejas Networks and Sinclair, while Lava is collaborating with Tejas.
A D2M-capable phone operates with a special chip that can tune into broadcast signals such as satellite or TV frequencies. The phone has software that decodes the broadcasts and displays the content. The broadcast signals can be transmitted over the 5G Broadcast standard—a next-generation evolution of the LTE broadcast and eMBMS systems.
LTE (long-term evolution) broadcast and eMBMS (evolved multimedia broadcast multicast services) technologies allow mobile networks to send the same video, TV, or alert to many phones at once, instead of sending it separately to each user.
Smoother, bigger
Newer technology such as 5G Broadcast allows even smoother, bigger broadcasts directly to smartphones without needing Wi-Fi or mobile data. However, for voice calls, texting, and internet browsing, the phone will still use regular mobile networks (like 4G/5G) or Wi-Fi, as it currently does.
The new HMD devices – low-cost feature phones, dongles, smartphones and tablets – will be powered by Tejas technology, tested extensively over live networks by Prasar Bharati in collaboration with IIT Kanpur and Tejas. Chipsets (SL-3000 from Tejas unit Saankhya Labs) power these devices, alongside a core network platform that delivers targeted ads, emergency alerts, educational content and more, according to Parag Naik, EVP at Tejas Networks.
According to Ravi Kunwar, VP and CEO of HMD India and APAC, this will enable the broadcast of a “vast array of multimedia content” like over-the-top (OTT) content, live TV, video, audio and text messages directly without the need for Wi-Fi or the internet.
Lava’s feature phone runs on the MediaTek MT6261 SoC (system-on-chip) with an integrated (SL3000) chip by Saankhya. It will come with a UHF (ultra-high frequency) antenna for TV reception, GSM for voice calls, a 2.8-inch (QVGA) display and a 2,200 mAh battery.
D2M technology is expected to be lapped up by the 80-90 million ‘TV dark homes,’ or those that do not have TV sets, across India. That said, the growth of the global D2M technology market is being driven by the increasing use of mobile devices and applications as well as remote work and collaboration, according to market research firm DataHorizzon Research.
The firm segments the market into healthcare, e-commerce and marketing, highlighting that telemedicine has emerged as a significant player with healthcare providers delivering services directly to users’ mobile devices.
Nevertheless, D2M technology is still in its early stages. Companies including Qualcomm, Samsung, and Indian telecommunications giant Jio and the Department of Telecommunications are testing the technology. While Lava’s and HMD’s dedicated D2M-only phones are yet to hit the market, newer 5G phones are incorporating D2M features, either through chipset upgrades or software updates.
These phones are more like D2M-ready devices, which require specific infrastructure such as broadcast towers and spectrum to fully function. D2M-capable phones will likely be priced similarly to standard 5G smartphones. Expect to pay an extra ₹1,000-2,000 due to added hardware like dedicated receivers or antennas, if required.
China has shown interest in 5G Broadcast while South Korea and Japan have explored 5G Broadcast and similar technologies that may pave the way for D2M-like services.
For now, though, India appears to have taken the lead in this space.