India’s mobile phone operators have called on the government to auction spectrum that would be used for direct-to-mobile (D2M) services in a technology neutral manner.
About Direct to Mobile (D2M) technology
- The Direct to Mobile (D2M) technology will allow users to download multimedia content directly in mobile phones without an active internet connection.
- The technology is based on the convergence of broadband and broadcast, using which mobile phones can receive terrestrial digital TV.
- It would be similar to how people listen to FM radio on their phones, where a receiver within the phone can tap into radio frequencies.
- The idea behind the technology is that it can possibly be used to directly broadcast content related to citizen-centric information and can be further used to counter fake news, issue emergency alerts and offer assistance in disaster management, among other things.
- It can also be used to broadcast live news, sports etc. on mobile phones.
- The content should stream without any buffering whatsoever while not consuming any internet data.
- Consumers would be able to access multimedia content from Video on Demand (VoD) or Over The Top (OTT) content platforms without having to exhaust their mobile data, and more importantly, at a nominal rate.
- The technology will also allow people from rural areas, with limited or no internet access, to watch video content.
