Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the country’s first 5G testbed to allow startups and industry players to test and validate their products on-site and reduce reliance on overseas installations.
The testbed was installed at a cost of around ₹220 crores.
Speaking at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or at the TRAI Silver Jubilee celebrations, the Prime Minister said the 5G testbed is an important step for self-sufficiency in tackling critical and advanced technologies.
“I invite young friends, researchers, and companies to use the test facilities to produce 5G technology,” Prime Minister Modi said. The 5G testbed was developed as a cross-institute joint project by eight institutes under the direction of the IIT Madras.
In the absence of a 5G testbed, startups and other industry players have had to travel abroad to test and validate their products for deployment on a 5G network.
The other institutes involved in the project are IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER), and the Center of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT).
The test facility will be available at 5 different locations.