Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, (IIT-Roorkee) and Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi, (IIT-Mandi) for the development of ‘Cell-Free’ 6G Access Points. Both the IITs are collaborating to develop this technology.
The C-DOT is a telecom research and development centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of the Government.
IIT’s aim to enhance connectivity, signal strength and data speeds; to contribute 6G standardisation, patents and commercialisation.
The project is in-line with ‘Bharat 6G vision’ that aims to establish India as a global leader in 6G technology, driving innovation, connectivity and digital inclusion, the Ministry of Communications said on Wednesday.
The Telecom Technology Development Fund is being used for funding this research.
The new technology being developed is different from traditional mobile networks that you use ‘cells’ installed at base stations to service mobile customers.
The new technology called ‘Cell-Free’ Massive Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output eliminates the idea of cells and cell boundaries by deploying several access points across a vast region to serve many user devices at the same time.
This eliminates ‘no signal’ zones, enhance signal strength, and significantly boosts data speeds.
This 6G project will focus on developing the upcoming 6G radio access networks.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony attended by C-DOT’s CEO Rajkumar Upadhyay and Director Pankaj Kumar Dalela, and principal and IIT-Roorkee’s investigator Abhay Kumar Sah and IIT-Mandi’s co-investigator Adarsh Patel Kumar.