NEW DELHI: Doordarshan has commenced digital terrestrial television (DTT) services in 16 cities, thereby providing mobile TV to the users.

The sixteen cities being covered from 25 February are- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Guwahati, Patna, Ranchi, Cuttack, Lucknow, Jallandhar, Raipur, Indore, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Bangalore and Ahmadabad.  

Mobile TV can be received in and around these cities using DVB-T2 Dongles in OTG enabled smart phones and tablets, Wi-Fi dongles for moving vehicles, besides the TV sets having built in DVB-T2 Tuner which are called as integrated digital TV (iDTV).

While Sony, LG, Panasonic, Samsung etc., are providing iDTV, the dongles are also available in online shopping sites like Flipkart, Ebay, Snapdeal etc. It requires the user to download the software and plug these dongles in the smartphones and tablets to receive DD Signals.

There will be no charges for watching the DD Channels. No internet connection is required after installation of the software. The public and private transportation vehicles and public places are potential environments for Mobile Television.

Currently, DD National, DD News, DD Bharati, DD Sports, DD Regional/DD Kisan are being relayed. Only one time investment of a dongle will be required by viewers and no extra expenditure unlike streaming with internet. The TV pictures are free from "ghosting" and "snowing".

DTT secures greater plurality in platform ownership, ensuring that no single platform owner is so powerful that it can exert undue influence on public opinion or political agendas. The digital transition offers an opportunity to increase the production of local content.

This in turn creates job opportunity and increases creativity and entrepreneurship. A strong DTT platform is critical for healthy competition in the TV market and to the realisation of a wide range of social benefits and most essentially an all weather reliable platform. There is no risk of catastrophic failure of total network. It provides alternative distribution platform.

DD channels can be received on smart phones, tablets and in moving vehicles. The new audience on move are the key beneficiary of this technology. Currently, mobile TV can be received using a dongle for mobile and tablets. But the day is not far when it will be embedded inside the devices. Watching TV from a phone is interested in many situations. Public and private transportation vehicle in public places are potential environment for mobile TV services. In the DTT Transmission everybody watches the same content at the same time and it guarantees everybody the same high level of service, since they are all bathed in the same signal. So tablets and smartphones and moving vehicles find new way of watching DD Channels in India in 16 cities, which are going to increase in near future.