PM Modi unveils India’s first 5G test bed, estimated to be worth Rs 220 crore

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched India’s first 5G testbed, allowing startups and industry players to test and certify their technologies domestically and lessen reliance on foreign facilities. The testbed was built at a cost of approximately Rs 220 crore. The Prime Minister said the 5G testbed is a significant step toward self-reliance in the direction of critical and modern technologies while speaking at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s silver jubilee celebrations.

KEY POINTS:

• The 5G testbed was created as a collaboration project between eight institutes, led by IIT Madras.
• Because there was no 5G testbed in the United States, entrepreneurs and other industry players had to fly abroad to test and certify their products before they could be installed in a 5G network.
• IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER), and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology were among the other institutions involved in the research.