MC Explains: Why telecom operators, smartphone makers oppose India’s D2M plans

D2M

India is assessing the potential adoption of Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) technology on mobile handsets. Various ministries have been engaged to develop standards and pilot the technology before its potential rollout to citizens in 2025.

The plan has been opposed by industry stakeholders, including telecom service providers, chipset makers, smartphone manufacturers, and telecom equipment makers. They argue that establishing a dedicated Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) network by allocating spectrum specifically for broadcasting infrastructure and offering competing or complementary services would result in an unfair advantage and breach the principle of a level playing field.

Direct-to-mobile (D2M) is a broadcasting technology that allows you to receive multimedia content on your phone without an internet connection. It works much like FM radio, where signals are transmitted and picked up by a receiver in your device.

Here is the lowdown on developments around D2M technology in India:

D2M utilises existing Land Mobile Radio System (LMRS), traditionally used for voice calls and alerts, to broadcast video content directly to phones. This eliminates the need for internet access, making it a valuable tool for regions with limited internet connectivity.

To implement D2M, the government plans to utilise the 526 MHz-582 MHz frequency band currently allocated to Prasar Bharati, India's public broadcaster.

Currently, D2M requires specific hardware in smartphones to receive and decode the signals. Future phone models need to be equipped with this hardware.

According to a paper published in June 2023 by IIT Kanpur in partnership with Prasar Bharati and the Telecommunications Development Society, D2M technology will offer unlimited video content at a fixed nominal monthly fee, which will be lower than the subscription costs of streaming platforms such as Netflix.

The government is preparing to conduct trials in 19 cities nationwide using Prasar Bharti's infrastructure to assess the technology's effectiveness and gather user feedback before deciding on a mass-scale rollout.

The government believes that D2M technology can bridge the digital divide by delivering educational content, critical information during emergencies, and general entertainment directly to mobile phones, even in areas without internet access.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Department of Science and Technology, and several other departments are collaborating on the proposal. They see D2M as a way to provide information and entertainment to users who might need more reliable internet access or expensive data plans.

The DoT’s technical arm, the Telecommunications Engineering Centre (TEC), is finalising a new draft report on D2M broadcasting and the technology's standards, having collected inputs from all stakeholders.

The TEC might decide on whether to adopt ATSC 3.0 standards, which enable the broadcasting of TV channels and content to smartphones like terrestrial broadcasting does with television, as national norms.

South Korea, Samsung's home base, was the first to launch ATSC 3.0, in 2017, to deliver better video and audio quality to OTA viewers in its largest urban areas. The country used the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang to promote its 4K capabilities. It is now extending ATSC 3.0 coverage to medium and small cities. As of 2023, ATSC 3.0 D2M is available in all the major cities in South Korea.

The United States, Mexico and Brazil also plan to use ATSC 3.0 for D2M.

Telecom operators, chipmakers, handset players, and network vendors said that the technology lacks an ecosystem and argued that 3GPP, which globally develops standards for mobile telecommunications, has included broadcast features in its release 17 for 5G broadcast. In their submissions to TEC, they highlighted that ATSC 3.0 has yet to gain global adoption.

Telcos also urged the government to ensure that any direct-to-mobile (D2M) service implementation does not result in regulatory arbitrage in providing content services on mobile handsets and aligns with national legal and technical standards. They want the proposal to be reviewed comprehensively, especially from a level playing field point of view, to ensure it does not become a source of regulatory arbitrage.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that building a dedicated D2M network by earmarking spectrum specifically for the broadcasting infrastructure providing competing/complementary services would breach the level playing field.

The COAI also argued that it is incorrect to assume a dedicated D2M network is needed to send disaster alerts.

Smartphone makers like Samsung have said that the cost of a device will increase by $30 if the ATSC 3.0 standards are made mandatory, requiring them to add more components. Existing smartphones in India are not equipped to work with ATSC 3.0.

In a collective communication to India's Ministry of Communications, Samsung, Qualcomm, Ericsson, and Nokia expressed concerns that incorporating direct-to-mobile broadcasting could potentially decrease device battery performance and cellular reception.

Department of Science and Technology secretary Abhay Karandikar, refuted the claims made by the private stakeholders and said the technology is mature and can be launched in a year after trials are concluded.

Rejecting claims about telecom operators losing out on data revenues, Karandikar said the technology can co-exist with mobile internet or 5G.

Telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal said the government can use funds from the telecom development fund to propagate D2M technology. A production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme can also be used to support the manufacturing of devices with D2M technology support, he said.

Parag Naik, MD and CEO of chipmaker Saankhya Labs said the chipset cost could be around Rs 120 to Rs 200 if sufficient volumes exist. He added that the technology would target the 'bottom-of-the-pyramid' segment, which would help the D2M technology quickly achieve scale.