Telecom Industry Seeks Fresh Review of Direct-to-Mobile Broadcast Tech
mobile antenna tower against blue sky background
India’s telecom industry has urged the government to conduct a fresh and more comprehensive technical evaluation of direct-to-mobile (D2M) broadcasting, raising concerns over the way earlier tests were carried out.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents major operators such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, said the previous evaluation led by Prasar Bharati did not include telecom operators or key players from the device and chipset ecosystem.
According to COAI, this limited the scope of the assessment to only a few factors, such as signal interference and device heating, while ignoring several important issues. These include device certification rules, electromagnetic field compliance, licensing and regulatory challenges, real-world usage conditions, and the readiness of smartphones and chipsets to support D2M technology at scale.
The industry body has called for a structured public consultation process led by the Department of Telecom and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, along with the development of clear standards and performance benchmarks through the Telecom Engineering Centre.
COAI’s Director General, SP Kochhar, said D2M broadcasting could have a major impact on spectrum usage, mobile networks and consumer safety, making it essential that any national-level evaluation is transparent, inclusive and technology-neutral.
Telecom operators have also warned that D2M broadcasting could affect spectrum bands earmarked for current and future 5G services, creating long-term challenges for India’s connectivity plans. While the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had earlier asked for a detailed and inclusive evaluation, COAI said the industry was surprised by the release of a test report in November 2025 that was conducted without stakeholder participation and without sharing the terms of reference in advance.
Another key concern raised by the industry is that the evaluation focused on only one technology standard, without fairly comparing other globally used and cellular-based broadcast solutions. COAI stressed that a balanced and open assessment is necessary to ensure efficient spectrum use and sustainable digital growth.
Source: Business Standard
