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Centre will play a crucial role in shaping standards and infrastructure for 6G networks worldwide, Dr Neeraj Mittal, Secretary (Telecom), has said. 

Inaugurating a centre of excellence on 6G at IITM Research Park, Chennai, Mittal said this initiative is aligned with the ‘Bharat 6G Vision’ document released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March last year.

PM Modi has envisaged India to be a front-line contributor in the design, development and deployment of 6G technology by 2030.

Mittal emphasised that the initiative aims to create a cohesive and coordinated effort in advancing 6G technology, ensuring that all projects benefit from collective expertise and resources.

The centre of excellence is a sub-centre of Telecom Centres of Excellence (TCoE)-India which will spearhead the development and deployment of 6G technology, promising unprecedented speeds, ultra-low latency, and enhanced connectivity.

The centre will serve as a hub for innovation, bringing together academic and industry experts to collaborate on cutting-edge projects.

This collaborative environment will foster the development of new applications and services that leverage 6G's capabilities.

This centre will also facilitate interconnect between the existing 5G Test Bed at IIT Madras which was developed indigenously through a collaborative project involving eight institutes and funded by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

The 5G Test Bed was inaugurated by PM Modi in May 2022 and has since been used extensively by industry and academia for testing new 5G products and use-cases.

The DoT has funded two next-generation testbeds to advance the 6G research.

Under the Bharat 6G Vision, DoT is already evaluating 470 proposals on ‘Accelerated research on 6G Ecosystem’.