In a move that will change the face of India’s digital landscape, a powerful consortium led by Tejas Networks, Intel, HMD Global, Lava International, and Free Stream Technologies has announced a slew of initiatives to bring Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) broadcasting to a wide range of devices. These announcements come ahead of the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 and promise connectivity-independent content delivery, universal education access, disaster alerts, and nationwide infotainment—even in areas with no connectivity.
At the heart of this revolution is a simple yet powerful concept: D2M broadcasting—a technology that bypasses internet-based content distribution by using terrestrial TV broadcast signals to deliver video, audio and data content to mobile phones, laptops and other edge devices.
Tejas Networks and Intel: Education Without Internet
Tejas Networks, part of the Tata Group, and Intel have announced the integration of D2M technology into Intel-powered laptops. This is a big deal as it enables direct broadcast of educational content on laptops without internet—a huge step towards digital inclusion.
The core of this is the SL-3000 SDR chipset—a software defined receiver developed by Tejas Networks (through its acquisition of Saankhya Labs) embedded in a laptop platform powered by Intel processors. The platform has a smart antenna and uses the ATSC 3.0 standard, a globally recognized broadcast protocol for rich media transmission over airwaves.
“With D2M chipsets in Intel powered laptops, we are taking a giant leap in educational content delivery,” said Parag Naik, EVP at Tejas Networks. “It means quality education for all, regardless of internet availability.”
This is in line with India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047 to address last mile education challenges and empower learners in rural and underserved areas.
Intel India’s President, Gokul Subramaniam said, “This opens up a whole new world of content delivery through edge devices. The reach and impact can be huge, not just in India but globally.”
HMD: First D2M Smartphones Coming Soon
On the mobile front, HMD—the company behind Nokia phones—is all set to launch India’s first D2M smartphones in partnership with Free Stream Technologies, the IIT Kanpur-incubated startup that helped develop D2M in India.
To be showcased at WAVES 2025, these devices will support broadcast based delivery of live TV, video on demand, emergency alerts and public interest messaging all without Wi-Fi or cellular data.
“With D2M, our consumers will have access to a wide range of multimedia content without connectivity constraints,” said Ravi Kunwar, VP & CEO, HMD India & APAC.
HMD’s devices will be powered by the SL-3000 chipset and the platform will support targeted ads, CDN offloading and various content verticals to enable India’s push towards a deep-tech enabled public service infrastructure.
Lava International
In a big push to expand D2M’s reach, Lava International, one of India’s top mobile manufacturers, has partnered with Tejas Networks and Free Stream Technologies to develop and manufacture India’s first D2M feature phones.
Built on MediaTek MT6261 platform, the feature phones will have SL-3000 SDR chipset and a dedicated UHF antenna to receive live TV and emergency messages without internet. With 2.8” QVGA display, 2200mAh battery and GSM voice, these phones are designed for rural India, especially in disaster prone or internet dark areas.
“D2M will help us reach last mile users and enhance national safety and security,” said Sanjeev Agarwal, Executive Director at Lava International.
This is in line with Lava’s innovation in feature phone space—recently launched UPI enabled phones and voice assistive devices for digital literacy and accessibility.
The Ecosystem and Strategic Implications
Behind these devices is a mature India developed technology ecosystem. From chipset to network infrastructure, the entire D2M stack—from hardware to software—is indigenously developed, which is in line with India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India, Design in India.
Government backed trials by Prasar Bharati, India’s public broadcaster along with IIT Kanpur have validated the commercial readiness of the D2M platform. International players like Sinclair Inc., a US media conglomerate backing ATSC 3.0 globally have also endorsed D2M as a precursor to Broadcast to Everything (B2X)—a possible feature of 6G networks.
Tejas Networks Post-IPO Performance
Tejas Networks went public on 27th June 2017. The issue was a mix of fresh issue (~INR 450.00 crore) and offer for sale (~INR 326.69 crore). On listing day, Tejas IPO gave a return of 5.44% on investment. But soon the IPO turned into a multibagger and went up over 4000% from all-time low of INR 28.90 in 2020 to INR 1,485 in June 2024.
Conclusion
With this India is not just a user but a global leader in next-gen broadcast technologies. D2M has applications across sectors—education, public health, emergency response, rural empowerment, media democratization.
As field trials give way to mass deployment, the vision is clear: an India where a child in Ladakh, a farmer in Chhattisgarh and a commuter in Mumbai can all get critical information and education in real time, at zero cost and without internet.
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