Saankhya Labs gets 5G trial spectrum

Homegrown semiconductor chipset maker Saankhya Labs has acquired 5G trial spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) within the 700 Mhz and 600 Mhz bands to domestically take a look at in-house merchandise — that allow convergence of broadcast and mobile broadband networks – earlier than launching them within the US market.
Saankhya Labs CEO Parag Naik instructed ET that “the experimental 5G spectrum allocation for six months will be used to test the company’s broadcast radio head (BRH) product and also an internally developed prototype broadcast-enabled mobile handset capable of receiving broadcast signals”.

Post-trials in Bengaluru, Saankhya’s BRH product, he stated, can be deployed by main the US personal broadcaster,

Broadcast Group, for providing live tv services on mobile phones within the US market.

Separately, Saankhya plans to showcase its broadcast-enabled prototype handset to world OEMs, and provide the chipset reference design for integration within the latter’s phones, he added. It has no plans to instantly enter the handsets enterprise.

Saankhya is focusing on a US industrial launch of its BRH product by the third quarter, calendar 2022.

The firm’s core BRH product, which is already licensed by US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), allows convergence of broadcast and mobile broadband networks that may, usually, permit digital terrestrial broadcasters within the US to spice up their attain and market share.

Naik stated Sinclair Broadcast’s curiosity in Saankhya’s BRH — which resembles a box-like mini TV transmitter — stems from dwindling client curiosity in regular TV viewing within the US. “Sinclair wants our product as it would enable them to take their television content to the far more ubiquitous mobile phone.”

He added that entry to Saankhya’s BRH system would additionally permit Sinclair to supply knowledge distribution services like firmware upgrades to its US auto purchasers over a broadcast community. Since a firmware improve app, usually, is a large knowledge guzzler, Sinclair would have the ability to provide the identical service over a broadcast community at far decrease charges than over commonplace unicast networks. Aajka Samachar