Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier Telecom R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India has signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) for the development of "Millimeter Wave Transceiver for 5G Rural Connectivity ".

The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India. This scheme, designed to fund Indian startups, academia, and R&D institutions, is a crucial enabler for designing, developing, and commercializing telecommunication products and solutions. It aims to enable affordable broadband and mobile services, playing a significant role in bridging the digital divide across India.

The project focuses on the development of millimeter wave backhaul technology in which only a small number of SBSs (Small cell - Based Stations) is connected to the gateway through fibre. Innovative mixed optical and millimetre wave approach proposed in the transceiver development will be a promising method to achieve the desired output of reduced overall size and decreased cost. It will also encourage small and medium scale industries to setup their manufacturing units in India which will create job opportunities to our own engineering graduates, due to the use of polymer-based structure in conjunction with metals. This will also reduce our over dependence on semiconductor fabrication industries. The proposed cost for the development of technology is extremely small as against the opportunities it would create. Additionally, the project also aims to contribute to generate Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and develop a skilled workforce to support the emerging millimetre wave/Sub-THz technology for 5G/6G.

The agreement signing event was attended by the Prof. Nagendra Prasad Pathak, principal investigator, IIT Roorkee in the presence of Dr. Pankaj Kumar Dalela, Director, C-DOT along with other senior officials.

At the event, Prof. Pathak affirmed his dedication to indigenously develop affordable technology for enhancing rural connectivity employing millimetre waves. He expressed his gratitude to DOT and C-DOT for the opportunity to collaborate on this research, emphasizing that it bolsters efforts to enhance cutting-edge research capabilities and infrastructure in the telecom sector.

Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay CEO, C-DOT expressed his keenness to keep India vanguard of all the changes in Telecom R&D by focussing on research and Intellectual property creation aligning with the Prime Minister's Vision for Atmanirbhar Bharat. He reiterated C-DOT’s commitment to this collaborative endeavour on timely development and delivery of the solution for shaping the cell-free 6G network.

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