NEW DELHI: India will soon have direct-to-mobile (D2M) technology, allowing mobile or tablet users to experience live television without an internet connection.
Trials are already underway with the collaboration of Bengaluru-based Saankhya Labs and IIT Kanpur. The D2M technology is at a mature stage, and after city-wise trials, it can be launched for the general public by next year.
We spoke to Parag Naik, the Chief Executive Officer of Saankhya Labs, the company that designed the chips and dongles for D2M, to know his insights into the technology, costs, and how countries like the United States and South Korea have shown interest in adopting it. The company will first launch the dongle, which will function like a WiFi router, enabling users to connect their devices and enjoy seamless video content or live television.
Excerpts:
What is D2M technology?
D2M is a way of delivering video content to your phone without using the internet, just like you have Wi-Fi offload. Similarly, you also have a way to offload broadcast content. In our country, most of the content that gets carried on the network is video. We, the broadcast network, are traditionally more optimized for carrying video.
What is in it for the consumer?
From a consumer benefit perspective, there are public use cases and there are private use cases. People can use it without an internet connection. There are about 300-400 million people who have access to devices but cannot pay for them. So, this is a way of reaching out to them by reducing the digital divide. On the higher end, it’s a reduced cost for your data plan, depending on how the model works.
Has any handset maker shown interest in it?
We have been in discussions with several companies, both Indian and foreign. However, I cannot disclose their names at this time.
What would be its cost?
Any new disruption typically will cost more initially, before it goes down drastically. The 4G phones available before 2016 were priced at around Rs 40,000; now the price has dropped to Rs 4,000. That’s how this technology works. Electronic products are all about volume, and the cost is inversely proportional to the volume or directly proportional to the volume. The dongle will cost Rs 600-700, with a certain configuration required, but most Android devices support it. With large volumes, around 5-10 million, the chips will cost less than Rs 150, and the external dongles (USB DTV receiver dongle) would be priced at about Rs 500-700.
Do you need any support from a chipmaker to bring out this technology?
We don’t need support from a chipmaker. We need support from Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs). At the end of the day, the consumer will decide whether they want to adopt this technology or not. If consumers find it interesting, there will be pressure on ODMs to incorporate the technology.