Doordarshan TV channels on smartphones sans internet?

NEW DELHI: National broadcaster Doordarshan is planning to offer 20 TV channels on smartphones without the Internet, media reports said.

Jawahar Sircar, CEO at Prasar Bharati, told the ET, that the only way for Doordarshan to leapfrog was to use the existing infrastructure along with new technologies. Sircar says that there are a large number of installed transmitters that can be used to send digital signals directly to a device through an external dongle or an inbuilt chip.

Viewers can connect a dongle and attach it to a hand-held device and view the 20 free-to-air channels. No dish or set top box is required, as it is envisaged that the transmitters would cover an area larger than current terrestrial transmitters. Sircar believes that with DTT (digital terrestrial television) technology, Doordarshan is in a position to compete successfully and stream channels to smartphones. The public broadcaster has written to the I&B ministry for approval.