Union Telecom and IT Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday inaugurated a 5G test lab developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics at the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Gauhati University.
The 5G use case lab will enhance our country's ability to expand education, deliver telemedicine, and improve healthcare access to the most remote villages," Scindia said, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Communications.
Scindia emphasized that the younger generation will drive transformative change, and such test labs will play a crucial role in fostering innovation across the country.
The government’s ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat’ vision has led to the development of an indigenous 4G and 5G stack, which is currently being deployed in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s mobile network, the ministry added.
This achievement lays a strong foundation for exploring new 5G applications and advancing the development of 6G technology,” the ministry stated.
According to the statement, engineering colleges across India are eager to engage with emerging technologies like 5G and 6G. A cost-effective 5G test lab will help them build the necessary competencies, encourage innovation, and accelerate research, development, and intellectual property rights generation for future 6G advancements.
The 5G test lab will benefit students, researchers, and faculty by providing hands-on experience with an end-to-end 5G system, deepening their understanding of 3GPP specifications for 5G Radio Access Networks and Core Networks, enhancing system capabilities, and exploring new 5G applications. It will also lay the groundwork for advanced research and specification development for 6G technologies, fostering IPR generation.
C-DoT's 5G university solution includes gNodeB, a Core Network, and IMS. The gNodeB comprises a Centralized Unit, Distributed Unit, and Radio Unit functionalities. Additionally, an Element Management System has been provided to manage and configure various 5G radio subsystem units.
The C-DoT 5G Lab is highly beneficial for students and faculty. This 5G testbed solution, along with the short-term training program conducted by C-DoT engineers, will significantly help students gain hands-on experience with 5G technology,” said Kandarpa Kumar Sarma, Head of the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Gauhati University.
Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO of C-DoT, assured that C-DoT will collaborate with various engineering colleges to establish 5G test labs and support the development and scalability of indigenous telecom technologies.