Prasar Bharati conducts trials for direct-to-mobile broadcasting

Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has moved a step ahead to facilitate telecast of live TV channels on smartphones without an internet connection as the trials to check feasibility of the direct-to-mobile (D2M) technology took off.

The officials of the ministry of information and broadcasting (MI&B) confirmed that the broadcaster has been conducting trials in different cities, including Delhi, in collaboration with IIT Kanpur and Saankhya Labs using both high-power and low-power transmitters.

Officials said experiments for D2M with IIT Kanpur have been successful and to take it further, transmitters on cellular towers and chips in mobile phones are required.

“Live broadcasting directly to mobile devices is done using broadcast signals like TV and radio. It is bypassing traditional cellular or internet data networks. The phones or devices require specific hardware to receive and decode broadcast signals,” said an official. The technology may enable high-quality video and audio streaming as it doesn’t depend on the variable speed and stability of an internet connection, said officials.

The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding in July 2019 for research collaboration in various areas, including direct-to-mobile broadcasting, convergence with 5G, rural broadband, and also for next generation broadcasting standards. Saankhya Labs, a subsidiary of Tejas Networks, is a premier wireless communication solutions provider based in Karnataka.

Own NewsOnAir app
A pilot project to examine if direct broadcasting of high viewership events like IPL to smartphones or devices on the lines of DTH was undertaken about three years ago. “Today, almost every user consumes video content on mobiles; news is also being seen on mobile through apps. Prasar Bharati has its own NewsOnAir app having a large consumer base,” said an official. Social Samosa