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FreeStream Technologies, incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, in collaboration with Lava International and HMD Global, has announced plans to introduce smartphones equipped with Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) technology in India, in preparation for extensive field testing.
The announcement, made during the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025, marks a significant step towards the broader adoption of D2M technology. This innovation enables the transmission of live television, video, audio, and text-based content of national and public relevance, including sports, entertainment, educational programming, and emergency alerts, directly to mobile devices using terrestrial TV broadcast signals, without the need for Wi-Fi or internet connectivity.
In accordance with the official statement, the initiative aligns with the Indian government's ‘Make in India’ and ‘Design in India’ programmes and supports the broader vision of a developed India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ initiative.
“We are pleased that Lava and HMD are laying the groundwork for a robust and scalable device ecosystem to support the nationwide rollout of D2M,” said Sumeet Nindrajog, Director of FreeStream Technologies. “Their willingness to supply devices at scale reflects strong confidence in the future of D2M technology.”
Sanjeev Agarwal, Executive Director of Lava International, added, “Our D2M feature phone design efficiently integrates both the modem and applications to ensure affordability ,a key characteristic of our devices.”
The upcoming generation of cost-effective feature phones, smartphones, and tablets will be powered by the SL-3000 D2M chipset, developed by Saankhya Labs, now a part of Tejas Networks. In partnership with US-based Sinclair, Tejas Networks has also developed the underlying network and infrastructure required to support D2M deployments. Sinclair noted that live network testing of the technology has been underway for several years through a collaboration between Prasar Bharati, IIT Kanpur, and Tejas Networks.
“The SL-3000 chipset, a key enabler for D2M, forms the technological foundation of these devices,” stated Parag Naik, Executive Vice President of Tejas Networks and co-founder of Saankhya Labs. “In line with Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a digitally empowered India, we have also developed a Core Network platform that enables targeted advertising, content delivery network (CDN) offload, educational content distribution, emergency alerts, and other services designed to benefit users,” Naik added.
The deployment of D2M technology is expected to significantly improve access to multimedia content for millions of mobile users, particularly in regions with limited internet connectivity.