Scindia calls on C-DOT to lead India's 6G push, take indigenous telecom technologies global

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Tuesday called on the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to accelerate work in 6G, artificial intelligence, quantum technology and cybersecurity while taking its indigenous technologies from research laboratories to global markets.

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Tuesday called on the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to accelerate work in 6G, artificial intelligence, quantum technology and cybersecurity while taking its indigenous technologies from research laboratories to global markets. Addressing C-DOT's 43rd Foundation Day, Scindia said India had moved from being behind the world in 4G to keeping pace in 5G and was now in a position to lead in 6G, crediting C-DOT's indigenous technology development for the shift.

"I've always said that we were behind the world in 4G. We walked and marched with the world on 5G but it is due to organisations such as C-DOT that today government of India and every proud Indian can say that we will lead the world in 6G," Scindia said. He said the next phase of telecom would be defined not just by connectivity but by networks that are secure, trusted, resilient and intelligent.

Scindia also urged C-DOT to move beyond research and development and focus on turning its technologies into products and taking them to global customers. "Not only move from research to developing products but also marketing those products," he said, adding that the Communications Ministry was working on strengthening this pathway. He called for technologies that are "affordable, dependable, scalable and globally competitive", with the aim of moving from products made in India to products "made in India but made for the world".

Highlighting C-DOT's existing 4G technology, Scindia said its indigenous 4G core had been deployed across more than 100,000 towers, serving customers across the country. He said the organisation now needed to build on that achievement. "We have written the standards of 6G and that capability is in you. You have done it before and you will do it again," he said.

Scindia said C-DOT's work in cybersecurity, quantum key encryption, post-quantum cryptography and disaster-resilient networks could support India's wider development goals. He also urged the organisation to apply advanced communications across agriculture, infrastructure, defence and the green and blue economy. He highlighted C-DOT's young workforce, noting that more than half of its 1,565 employees are below 30 years of age, and called on them to drive the organisation's contribution to India's development by 2047.

India's Bharat 6G Vision, released in March 2023, envisages the country as a frontline contributor to the design, development and deployment of 6G technology by 2030. The government has supported 6G research through two testbeds, 100 5G labs at academic institutions and approval of 104 research proposals on 6G network ecosystems. The 6G vision focuses on affordable, sustainable and widely available connectivity, with the technology expected to support applications using AI, advanced imaging and real-time data processing. (ANI)