Samsung and Qualcomm have opposed the idea of live TV broadcasting directly on smartphones in India. The Indian government is considering a policy which would push smartphone makers or Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to equip their phones with hardware that will enable live broadcasting without the need to be connected to a mobile network. However, industry players including Qualcomm, Samsung, and other major names such as Nokia and Ericsson have opposed the move.
As per Reuters, in a joint letter to the communications ministry of India, these tech players said that live broadcasting directly to the phones would degrade the devices' battery performance and cellular reception. Further, the move would increase the cost of smartphones by up to Rs 2500. India is considering using ATSC 3.0 technology (quite popular in North America), to enable users to stream high-quality TV content directly on smartphones.
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The current devices aren't equipped with the said tech and any changes required would only push the costs upwards. The letter from the tech players suggests that they don't see any merits of such a move. Note that the government is still currently debating the policy internally and whether it would be implemented or not is not confirmed yet.
Video consumption on smartphones is at its peak and it is what most of the mobile traffic is. To decongest the mobile networks, live broadcasting directly on smartphones is being considered by the government.
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What Should Happen Here?
The tech bodies have already opposed the move, and another major thing for the government to consider is whether the consumers want it or not. If the consumers do not see any merit in the technology, then they would not want to pay more for it.
