NEW DELHI: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents private telecom operators, has raised concerns over a direct-to-mobile (D2M) broadcast technology test commissioned by public broadcaster Prasar Bharati without the involvement of telecom operators and mobile device companies. The D2M technology would allow live TV channels to be transmitted directly to mobile phones without using cellular networks. In 2019, Prasar Bharati had signed an agreement with IIT Kanpur to technically examine concerns related to possible interference between D2M broadcasting and telecom services, as well as the heating of mobile devices due to D2M operations.
The tests were conducted by IIT Kanpur through the Telecom Engineering Centre, along with authorised technology partner Aracion Technology, and involved Tata group firm Tejas Networks and a D2M-enabled smartphone. The test report, published in November 2025, rejected concerns raised by some stakeholders.
"COAI has expressed serious concerns regarding the manner in which recent technical tests related to Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) broadcasting have been conducted in India, stating that the process falls short of the transparent, consultative and technology-neutral framework as envisaged by the government," the industry body said.
COAI, which represents Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, said D2M broadcasting has direct implications for spectrum bands identified for existing and future 5G services. The industry body maintained that assessments conducted without the involvement of telecom service providers and regulators risk overlooking interference issues, coexistence challenges and long-term spectrum planning needs critical to India’s connectivity roadmap.
COAI said it and its member operators had actively participated in stakeholder discussions held earlier and had submitted detailed technical inputs to support a comprehensive and India-specific evaluation of D2M.
"However, the telecom industry was taken by surprise by the subsequent publication of a technical test report conducted without the participation of telecom service providers, device ecosystem partners and without sharing the ToR used for this technical test with all stakeholders prior to the conduct of the tests," COAI said. It added that the approach raised serious concerns around transparency, procedural fairness and objectivity.
"The absence of stakeholder participation -- particularly telecom operators, whose networks and spectrum resources are directly impacted, as well as device OEMs -- undermines the credibility of conclusions drawn from such an exercise," it said.
COAI Director General S P Kochhar said D2M broadcasting has wide-ranging implications for spectrum, networks, devices and consumer safety.
"Any national-level technical evaluation of such a technology must be transparent, inclusive and technology-neutral, with active participation of all affected stakeholders. COAI firmly believes that policy decisions of this magnitude must be grounded in comprehensive, technical assessments to safeguard network integrity, efficient spectrum use and long-term digital growth," Kochhar said.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had, during a stakeholder meeting in September 2025, directed that a comprehensive technical evaluation of D2M be conducted with clearly defined Terms of Reference (ToR), participation of all relevant stakeholders, and consideration of all parallel technology options.