DoT brings together startups, academia on 'Telecom Design Collaboration'

In a novel initiative, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) brought together startups/MSMEs, academia and research institutions under the "Telecom Design Collaboration Sprint". This sprint was organised by DoT at IIIT, Bangalore. Fifteen leading startups/MSME in the Radio Access Network (RAN), core ecosystems, institutions such as IIT Madras, C-DOT, IIT Delhi and other network entities participated.

This collaboration engaged in deep-tech rapid ideation and innovative solution towards developing a comprehensive and future-ready telecom stack encompassing comprehensive 5G solution and setting the stage for future advancements to 6G, the Ministry of Communications said in a statement on Thursday.

The sprint was driven by three primary objectives:

Leveraging collective strengths: The sprint enabled startups to combine expertise in critical 5G infrastructure areas, fostering innovation and speeding up a common telecom stack development.

Fostering holistic solutions: Through collaboration, startups aim to create comprehensive 5G solutions, addressing industry needs and preparing for future advancements.

Creating market opportunities: By aligning efforts, it seeks to unlock market potential, empowering startups to compete and grow in the telecom landscape.

After in-depth and extensive discussions during the event, outcome-based focus groups were formed to address gaps in the Indian telecom ecosystem and get ready for 6G and other upcoming technologies. These groups will concentrate on areas like core infrastructure, distribution units (DUs), radio units (RUs), central units (CUs) and others elements with an objective to bridge current gaps and provide solutions that are suited to meet future needs. Two working groups were also formed.

The participants expressed appreciation for this pioneering initiative, marking it as a first-of-its-kind endeavor in the industry. They also expressed interest in close collaboration and urged the DoT to continue with such initiatives.

The sprint underscores DoT's commitment to nurturing innovation and fostering industry collaboration to propel India's telecommunications sector towards global leadership in the 5G era and beyond, the ministry said. Bringing together unique strengths and competence of start-ups and MSMEs, together with academia and industry, the DoT aims at creating a robust and forward-looking mobile telecom stack with an emphasis on advancing towards 6G technology, it added.