CHENNAI : Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Hon’ble Minister of Communications and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, Government of India, visited the Indigenous first-of-its-kind 5G Testbed Project at Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and witnessed a demonstration of the indigenous 5G Network in the campus.
The Researchers from the 5G Testbed Project at IIT Madras demonstrated very high speed communications (1 Gbps) using base stations and technology developed indigenously.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) funded a large scale 5G testbed project located at IIT Madras and involving eight R&D institutes to encourage Indian start-ups and the industry to take an early lead in 5G. The Testbed is available to industry, academia, research institutions, and government bodies besides Start-ups for various R&D, product development and capacity building activities.
Researchers at IIT Madras and the 5G Testbed have developed indigenous 5G systems and are currently working on designing and developing 6G technologies. In addition, they also participate in global standardization activities and develop Indian Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in this critical sector.
Addressing the Faculty, Researchers, and students after witnessing this demonstration, Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Hon’ble Minister of Communications and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, said, “My students, the youth of our country are at the forefront of India’s technological and economic transformation. Initiatives like the indigenous 5G Testbed Project here at IIT Madras are not only a testament to India’s growing innovation capabilities but is also a vital step towards becoming the third-largest economy in the world. By harnessing the potential of our young talent, we are driving towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat—self-reliant and globally competitive.”
Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia added, “Indigenous technology manufacturing will be the key driver to India’s economic growth, creating employment opportunities, fostering innovation, and boosting our global stature in critical sectors like telecommunications.”
Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia also visited the 5G Lab and the advanced Optical Communication Testbed at the IIT Madras campus. He also interacted with the faculty, researchers and students of the 5G Testbed and the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “Higher Educational Institutions have dedicated themselves to Viksit Bharat @ 2047 by exploring and developing New age technologies. The 5G project is one such effort. The visit of Hon’ble Minister of Communications has certainly enthused our team to pursue more advanced research and development in the critical area of Next generation Communication Technologies.”
Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, National Coordinator, 5G Testbed, and Faculty, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “The Indigenous 5G Testbed project set up the platform for Indian Telecom R&D and start-ups to launch a globally competitive and timely effort to take a lead in 6G technology.”
The 5G infrastructure (hardware and software) developed at IIT Madras is a state-of-the art system and provides a basis for starts-ups and smaller companies in India to build their 5G products.
Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Hon’ble Minister of Communications, also interacted with Researchers from Center of Excellence In Wireless Technology (CEWiT) IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, and IIT Madras-incubated start-ups working in 5G-related sectors such as BigCat and NMS.
Highlighting the significance of the underway at this 5G Testbed, Prof. Radhakrishna Ganti, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “The 5G Testbed at IIT Madras is a unique case study of a Government-funded research project being executed by a group of academic institutions wherein the outcome of the research is transferred to organisations for appropriate enhancements. This is a landmark in the journey of the Indian Telecommunications Industry. IIT madras is working further to demonstrate India’s leadership in 6G technology development and standardisation efforts along with other academic institutions, Government and the industry.”
Prof. Radhakrishna Ganti led the development of 5G radio systems at IIT Madras. His team is currently designing 6G technologies. He had made several contributions to global standards bodies and spearheaded the development of Rural use cases in ITU (International Telecom Union) to provide modern telecom access and connectivity to remote and rural areas. His work on stochastic geometry for the analysis of wireless and cellular networks is globally recognized.
