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The Classical and Quantum Communications for 6G Centre of Excellence was recently launched in Chennai, at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) Research Park. It will lead the development and roll-out of 6G tech, aiming to offer “unprecedented speeds, ultra-low latency, and enhanced connectivity,” according to the government. The project is a sub-centre of the Telecom Centres of Excellence (TCoE)-India.
The government envisions the centre as a hub for innovation that allows academic and industry experts to collaborate on cutting-edge projects and develop new applications and services that leverage 6G’s capabilities. The centre might have international implications by potentially shaping the standards and infrastructure for 6G networks worldwide.
This centre will also be connected to the 5G Test Bed at IIT-Madras, which was established indigenously two years ago through a collaborative project between eight institutes and funding from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The 5G Test Bed is used by both industry and academia to test new 5G products and use cases.
A three-day-long workshop has been scheduled to select 6G tech proposals, which will be organised into categories based on their thematic and technical similarities. This is expected to foster targeted collaboration and maximise the impact of the research and development efforts.
The event will bring together candidates and their proposals and provide a platform to synergise their projects, share insight, and work towards common goals, the government explained. The aim is to foster a “cohesive and coordinated effort in advancing 6G technology, ensuring that all projects benefit from collective expertise and resources.”
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released “Bharat 6G Vision”, a document detailing India’s targets for the technology. In it, India sets out to be a front-line contributor in the design, development, and deployment of 6G technology by 2030.
Rooted in the principles of affordability, sustainability, and ubiquity, the document wants India to take its “rightful place in the world as a leading supplier of advanced telecom technologies and solutions that are affordable and contribute to the global good,” the government stated.
The United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) ‘IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) 2030 Framework’ was approved on 22 June 2023. It will serve as the foundational document for research and development, paving the way for the global advancement of 6G technology. IMT refers to broadband mobile systems.
The framework spotlights sustainability, security, resilience, connecting the unconnected, and ubiquitous intelligence as key design principles applicable to all usage scenarios. It identifies 15 capabilities for 6G technology, with nine being enhancements of existing 5G capabilities. These enhancements include improvements in security and resilience, latency, mobility, connection density, peak data rate, and spectrum efficiency.
DoT has funded two next-generation testbeds to advance the 6G research. Under the Bharat 6G Vision, DoT is evaluating 470 proposals on “Accelerated research on the 6G Ecosystem”.
As the country moves toward 6G, 5G projects continue to thrive. Last month, OpenGov Asia reported that 5G could revolutionise rural life. At an event, “Transforming Rural Landscapes: Designing 5G Intelligent Villages”, the government expounded on the use of 5G tech for sustainable development and innovation across agriculture, education, healthcare, and governance. Included in the event were sessions such as ‘Building the Backbone of Rural Connectivity,’ ‘Real World Use Cases and Innovations,’ ‘AI-Powered Real-Time Monitoring,’ and ‘On-Ground 5G Network Infrastructure.’ Participants discussed the integration of 5G tech with traditional rural practices for sustainable growth and to improve living standards in rural areas.
