Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur on Friday signed a long-term cooperation agreement for joint research in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), computing and wireless to advance 6G technology.
According to an official announcement, two agreements were signed between the two organizations to foster cooperation in the development of new AI and distributed computing technologies for 6G research.
Ericsson said AI and computing research is important for 6G networks, as compute offloads need to be dynamically managed at the edge, primarily by AI. Both organizations see this partnership as a way to push the boundaries of basic and applied research in the wireless field.
“In our efforts towards Digital India and making India a hub of innovation, this collaboration with Ericsson is highly effective for next-generation technologies. It will enable the applications leveraged to run faster and more efficiently,” Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, said in a statement.
He added that in the 6G era, IIT Kharagpur aims to contribute in radio access technologies and networks, core networks, RF and device technologies, VLSI design, neuromorphic signal processing, services and applications.
The collaboration between Ericsson and IIT Kharagpur includes several important initiatives, including compute offloading and resource optimization in edge computing. It aims to explore resource optimization, dynamic observability, and sustainable distributed and edge computing technologies. Another effort is RL-based beamforming for JCAS. It aims to explore causal AI techniques for collaborative communications and sensing (JCAS).
Magnus Frodi, Head of Ericsson Research, said the partnership strengthens both companies’ R&D efforts in India and is critical for wireless, computing and AI research.
Ericsson has been present in India since 1903 and its research team was established in 2010. With the establishment of his 6G research in India, Ericsson looks forward to playing a pivotal role in enabling India to be at the forefront of future communications technologies. The company expects 6G to converge the digital and physical worlds, contributing to a more intelligent, sustainable and efficient society, and providing new use cases in various fields.
In October last year, Ericsson established an India 6G research team at its Chennai Research and Development Center and announced the launch of the ‘India 6G’ program. The company currently has three research and development facilities in India: Chennai, Bengaluru and Gurgaon. The India 6G team comprises senior research leaders and experienced researchers in the fields of wireless, networking, AI and cloud.
The government also announced a national 6G project last March, with the goal of launching the technology by 2030. The project aims to identify and fund research and implementation of next-generation technologies in the country. A council has been appointed to oversee the project and focus on issues such as standardization, 6G-friendly spectrum, and building an ecosystem of devices and systems, among other things. The council will also focus on new technologies such as terahertz communications, wireless interfaces, tactile internet, AI for connected intelligence, new encoding schemes, and waveform chipsets for 6G devices.
In September 2023, ATIS’s Next G Alliance (NGA) and India’s Bharat 6G Alliance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities for cooperation on 6G wireless technology. The Bharat 6G Alliance is an initiative of India’s industry, academia, national research institutes and standards bodies to design, develop and deploy technology for future 6G systems.
Meanwhile, according to BIS Research data released in November, the 6G market is expected to be worth $1.58 billion in 2028, growing at a CAGR of 103.35% and reaching $1.29319 trillion by 2035. It is expected to reach $1 million. According to the report, 6G market growth is driven by an emphasis on low-latency networks for specific applications and increased adoption of things like internet services and edge computing devices.
