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Informist, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026

NEW DELHI – Telecom industry body Cellular Operators Association of India has raised concerns over the manner in which the recent technical tests on direct-to-mobile broadcasting were conducted without involving telecom operators and mobile device companies. 

"Direct-to-mobile broadcasting has far-reaching 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," said COAI Director General Lieutenant General S.P. Kochhar.

The direct-to-mobile broadcasting service technology, if successful, would enable direct transmission of live TV channels on mobile phones without cellular connectivity.
 

COAI, which represents telecom operators such as Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd., said the absence of stakeholder participation -- particularly telecom operators, whose networks and spectrum resources are directly impacted, as well as device original equipment manufacturers -- undermines the credibility of conclusions drawn from such an exercise. It added that the industry has highlighted that the scope of the tests appears narrowly confined to a limited set of parameters, such as interference and device heating, while excluding several critical technical and ecosystem-related aspects. These include device certification requirements, electromagnetic field compliance, regulatory and licensing implications, real-world usage scenarios, and the readiness of the device and chipset ecosystem.

COAI pointed out that the test methodology does not fully reflect India-specific spectrum allocations and deployment conditions, thereby limiting the relevance of the findings to actual operational networks in the country. Another concern raised by the industry body is that the evaluation focused on only one technology standard, without assessing other comparable and globally relevant solutions such as cellular-based broadcast technologies.

COAI has called for re-conducting the technical evaluation with a comprehensive and stakeholder-finalised terms of reference, ensuring evaluation of all relevant direct-to-mobile technology options in a technology-neutral manner, involvement of telecom operators, device manufacturers, chipset vendors, regulators, and accredited laboratories across all stages of the evaluation process. It has also suggested undertaking a structured public consultation through the Department of Telecommunications and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, as well as developing standards, key performance indicators, and performance benchmarks through an open consultative process led by the Telecommunications Engineering Centre.   End

Reported by Shakshi Jain

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

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