Two Indian research institutes sign 6G collaboration agreement with Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT)
Two Indian technology institutes have partnered with the country’s Ministry of Telecommunications to develop “cell-free” access points that could potentially be part of a future 6G system.
The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi (IIT Mandi) has signed an agreement to collaborate with the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), a telecommunications research and development centre under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
According to local reports, the agreement was signed under the Ministry of Telecommunications’ Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme, which aims to provide financial assistance to domestic companies, Indian start-ups, academic institutions and research and development organizations involved in the technology design, development and commercialization of telecommunication products and solutions.
The project will focus on developing access points aimed at enabling future 6G radio access networks, and will also contribute to 6G standardization activities, promote commercialization, create intellectual property rights, and develop a skilled workforce to support the new 6G environment.
C-DOT CEO Rajkumar Upadhyay emphasised that indigenously designed and developed technology will play a key role in meeting India’s specific telecom requirements, adding that the initiative will help India generate intellectual property rights in the 6G domain and emergent technologies in the field of 6G which are yet to be standardised.
Professor KK Pant, Principal, IIT Roorkee added, “This partnership with C-DOT marks a pivotal step in our commitment to indigenous development of cutting-edge communication technologies. IIT Roorkee is proud to lead this effort which is fully aligned with our mission to foster innovation and excellence in research. This collaboration will contribute significantly towards India’s 6G vision and strengthen our position as a leader in technological advancement.”
India’s Bharat 6G Alliance recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the 6G Smart Networks and Services Industry Association (6G-IA) and 6G Flagship-Oulu University to boost research activities in the 6G space.
The Bharat 6G Alliance is an initiative of Indian industry, academia, national laboratories and standards bodies focused on designing, developing and deploying technologies for future 6G systems through fostering an ecosystem for research, design, development, field testing, security, certification and manufacturing of communication solutions.
The Bharat 6G Alliance and 6G-IA recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore collaboration opportunities in several areas including 6G vision, 6G requirements, architecture and use cases, identification of common interests, building consensus and collaboration to support development of globally harmonized standards for Beyond 5G and 6G, and fostering cooperation between European and Indian R&D organizations and industries.
The groups noted that this work will include aligning research and development priorities in support of a shared 6G vision, building secure and reliable communications and resilient supply chains.
Last year, the Bharat 6G Alliance and ATIS’s Next G Alliance (NGA) signed a memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration opportunities on 6G wireless technology.
