New Delhi [India], June 10 (ANI): Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) technology could help harmonise cellular and broadcasting spectrum and improve customer experience while supporting applications beyond entertainment and broadcasting, NITI Aayog Member Abhay Karandikar told ANI on Wednesday.

'I do see this and I believe that this will be an important step forward not only from the broadcasting and entertainment point of view, but also for various other applications. This will go a long way in harmonising the cellular spectrum along with the broadcasting spectrum to give a very improved customer experience,' he said.

Speaking to ANI in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of an event where Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Karandikar said that D2M has the potential to become an important component of India's future converged telecom network as the country explores technologies aimed at improving connectivity and communication services.

He said satellite communications are also expected to become part of the broader converged connectivity ecosystem in the future. 'Ultimately, it is again going to be in a converged scenario because satellite will also eventually get integrated with all of that,' he said.

The remarks came after IIT Kanpur and BSNL signed an MoU to collaborate on various digital technologies, including Direct-to-Mobile broadcasting technology.

'I think this MoU, IIT Kanpur and BSNL have signed for collaborations on various digital technologies, including Direct-to-Mobile broadcast,' Karandikar said.

Asked about the commercial deployment of D2M technology, Karandikar said the technology is currently in the pilot-testing stage and will require further evaluation before any commercial rollout can be considered.

'It is not at a commercial stage. They have to first do the pilot testing to see the feasibility and then develop products around that and then think about doing a commercial rollout. So right now it is more at the pilot-testing phase,' he said.

Karandikar said pilot testing would help assess the feasibility of the technology and support the development of products and applications before decisions are taken on wider deployment.

He also welcomed BSNL's participation in the initiative and said the involvement of a telecom operator would help evaluate whether a viable commercial model could emerge from D2M technology.

'Since I have been advocating it for a long time, it is a good thing that BSNL, as a telecom operator, has come forward to pilot testing and deciding whether commercial sense for a telecom operator can be made out of it,' he said.

According to Karandikar, D2M technology has the potential to extend beyond traditional broadcasting and entertainment applications and could play a broader role in India's evolving communications ecosystem.

The collaboration between IIT Kanpur and BSNL is expected to facilitate research and pilot testing of D2M technology as stakeholders assess its technical feasibility and commercial viability before any wider deployment. (ANI)