D2M broadcasting, as defined in a paper from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur in 2022, proposes a mechanism for multimedia broadcasting without relying on data connectivity. The mechanism is already used for emergency broadcasts of government notifications, but the latest proposal shows how it is being used to bring television and multimedia content directly to smartphones, bringing content-driven services to users who still do not have direct access to mobile data .
Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra said discussions on a pilot project for D2M broadcasting have begun “in 19 cities using the Prasar Bharati digital terrestrial transmission network.”
However, the challenges for the sector will remain. “The pilot launch will be the first step: you need a certain chip in devices. We have to see how that adoption happens. Next we need to look at how much content is consumed. We will take all this into consideration before we launch it on a large scale. As of now, we are not giving any mandate to any smartphone company or telecom operator as this is just a pilot,” Chandra added.
This move means that to support the technology, smartphones will need a specialized chip or an add-on dongle. Bengaluru-based Saankhya Labs on Tuesday unveiled one such chip, claiming it has the potential to tap millions of users for D2M broadcasting.
“The key to bringing the technology to a wider audience will be in achieving scale. We are already in discussions with Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs), but this does not require us to collaborate with chip makers. Our goal is to reach a size of approximately 10 million users to distribute the technology with, which should be possible considering that the market has more than 1 billion devices and users. At such a scale, the addition of our chip in Android smartphones will only result in a cost increase of approximately $2.5 (~ ₹200) per device,” said Parag Naik, CEO, Saankhya Labs.
“Our plug-and-play dongle, which will also support D2M broadcasting, is already being marketed in the US and we will bring it to India in about six months to a year. ₹600-800,” Naik added.
Saankhya's plans are currently at a very early stage and will depend on discussions about the Center supporting a pilot D2M broadcast in the coming months.
Naik did not mention any ODM or brand partners that they are associated with or have received interest from so far, stating that they are currently “in discussions”.
Industry stakeholders have also expressed their concerns. SP Kochhar, director general of industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (Coai) said on Monday that concerns around the technology remain “on the aspects of level playing field, spectrum allocation, network integration and regulatory and cost arbitrage, in favor of the proposed public-private partnership model and against the telecom providers.”
“Building a dedicated D2M network by reserving spectrum specifically for broadcast infrastructure and offering competing or complementary services would violate the level playing field. Offloading mobile networks also requires tight integration of broadcast capabilities with mobile networks so that spectrum and infrastructure can be optimally utilized for broadcast and IMT services, depending on demand. A dedicated D2M network, built by a third party, will not be able to optimally realize these aspects,” says Kochhar.
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 affected by D2M broadcasts encroaching on an area where “ telcos can earn”.
“The entire telecom industry is against any form of D2M broadcasting on principle, and multiple entities, including chip and infrastructure makers, have made it clear that it wouldn't be as simple as just adding a chip and a feature for users. Data costs in India are also declining, further prompting telecom companies to protest against the D2M pilot,” the consultant said.
However, Chandra confirmed 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 a television. This means that almost 90 million households still do not have a television. At the same time, the number of smartphones in India is 800 million, and this is expected to rise to 1 billion. This is why D2M broadcasting offers enormous opportunities. This could 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 due to streaming video content. Even if 25-30% of it can be transferred to D2M broadcasting, it can greatly help reduce the load on 5G networks,” he said.
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Published: Jan 16, 2024 11:29 PM IST
