Tejas Networks-owned Saankhya in talks with Indian, Taiwanese firms to make D2M-enabled phones

D2M technology provides information and entertainment to users who need more reliable internet access or expensive data plans. It allows users to access multimedia content directly on their smartphones and tablets, without an active internet connection.

Tejas Networks subsidiary Saankhya Labs has opened talks with Indian and Taiwanese mobile manufacturers to develop a direct to mobile (D2M) technology-enabled phone, which will be a cross between a smartphone and a feature phone, a top executive has said.

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

“We are in touch with Lava International and are talking to a few other players from India and Taiwan to develop this. The technology is ready for scale in India,” Saankhya Labs CEO Parag Naik told Moneycontrol.

“The feature phone base doesn't want to pay opex for video services. We are converting this opex with a small capex. This extra Rs 500 capex will be offset in no time. Consumers will get access to video content enabled by free ad-supported TV. This will allow broadcasters and other content players to tap a large number of customers. It is a win-win for everybody,” Naik said.

The government is assessing the adoption of D2M technology on mobile handsets. Several ministries are collaborating on the proposal to develop standards and pilot the technology before its potential rollout to citizens in 2025.

To be tested in 19 cities 

The government is preparing to conduct trials in 19 cities nationwide using Prasar Bharti's infrastructure to assess the technology's effectiveness. It sees the technology as providing information and entertainment to users who 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.

However, the plan has been opposed by telcos, chipset makers, and smartphone manufacturers. Players like Samsung and Qualcomm said that mandating technology will increase the cost of a device by $30.

Countering their claim, Naik said with enough volume, the required changes would increase the cost by only $3 in scale. He added that the technology will quickly be adopted as it targets the "bottom-of-the-pyramid" segment.

“The additional chip cost is sub-$5. If somebody doesn't believe, they can place an order, and I am ready to give at that price. OEMs got rattled because they thought the technology would be a mandate, and I don't think it will. It is going to be a market-driven thing,” Naik said.

Earlier, IIT-Kanpur partnered with Saankya Labs for a proof-of-concept to establish a roadmap for D2M.

The company is already providing D2M tech-enabled dongles and set-top boxes to broadcasters in the US. Naik said a D2M tech-enabled dongle costs just Rs 500 with large volumes. “We are in touch with companies and broadcasters in Brazil and the US to offer our chips.”

Earlier this year, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), representing private telecom operators, 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 body also argued that it was incorrect to assume a dedicated D2M network was needed to send disaster alerts.

Naik said D2M is unlikely to replace cellular technology, adding it will be a complementary technology to wireless cellular technologies.

“This could enable use cases like CDN offload. Telcos can get involved here to offer the D2M service and reduce network load, which will require regular capex and opex to expand to handle the video data growth,” he said, referring to content delivery network, which is a group of interconnected servers which speeds up webpage loading for data-heavy applications.

Naik said Sankhya Labs wants to work with players with a large installed base of customers to ensure quick adoption.