Imagine watching live cricket, catching up on the news, or even attending a virtual class on your mobile phone without touching your data plan. Sounds too good to be true? Get ready, because this could soon be your reality in India.
HMD, the company known for its mobile devices, just announced plans to launch phones in India equipped with a groundbreaking technology called Direct-to-Mobile (D2M). This isn’t some future concept; it’s happening now, with launches planned ahead of larger field trials across the country. The buzz is palpable at the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 happening right now at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai.
Think of D2M like a personal broadcast receiver built into your phone, similar to how FM radio works. It pulls in live TV, videos, audio, and even text messages directly through terrestrial broadcast airwaves. No Wi-Fi, no cellular data needed. This is a major shift in how we could consume content on our phones, potentially saving users a significant amount on data costs.
This move aligns directly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) and strongly supports the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Design in India’ initiatives. The technology powering these upcoming HMD phones, including feature phones, smartphones, and tablets, comes from Tejas Networks, leveraging the capabilities of Saankhya Labs’ SL-3000 chipset. This “Designed in India” chip is a core enabler for D2M.
This technology isn’t new off the assembly line; it has undergone extensive testing in live networks for several years by the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati, working alongside IIT Kanpur and Tejas Networks. It’s a testament to Indian innovation and collaboration bringing this to the forefront.
Ravi Kunwar, VP and CEO of HMD India and APAC, shared his enthusiasm, stating that HMD is committed to staying ahead and delivering the best for consumers. He sees D2M as a platform that will give users access to a vast amount of multimedia content in a completely new way.
Sumeet Nindrajog, Director of FreeStream Technologies, the IIT Kanpur-incubated company involved, highlighted HMD’s commitment as crucial for building the device ecosystem needed for nationwide D2M deployment. He believes HMD’s ability to supply devices at scale shows strong confidence in D2M’s future success.
Parag Naik, Executive Vice President at Tejas Networks and co-founder of Saankhya Labs, explained that their SL-3000 chipset is the fundamental piece making D2M possible. Beyond just content delivery, he mentioned the development of a Core Network platform that will allow for targeted advertising, offloading content delivery network (CDN) traffic, distributing educational content, and sending emergency alerts. This infrastructure will further empower consumers, contributing to a digitally empowered India.
Chris Ripley, President and CEO of Sinclair, Inc., a company deeply involved in the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, sees the adoption of this technology in affordable mobile devices in India as a validation of their focus on “mobile first” broadcasting and their investment in Indian technology. He even mentioned their work on the next iteration, “Broadcast to Everything” (B2X), which aims to unlock even more applications for this broadcast technology in the future, hinting at the long-term potential.
The ability to receive entertainment, sports, educational programs, and critical emergency alerts directly on mobile devices using existing terrestrial TV broadcast airwaves is a game-changer. HMD is positioning itself to be among the first to bring this capability into the hands of Indian consumers, potentially reshaping how millions access information and entertainment.
