India Steps Up Global Telecom Leadership as TEC and IIT Kanpur Partner on 6G, AI and Quantum Communications

The partnership directly supports the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision by strengthening indigenous research, design, testing, and manufacturing capabilities in the telecom sector.

In a significant move to strengthen India’s leadership in next-generation telecommunications, the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC)—the technical arm of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India—has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) to collaborate on advanced telecom research, testing, and global standardisation.

The partnership establishes a formal framework for joint research, pre-standardisation, and technical contributions across cutting-edge communication technologies, with a sharp focus on building India-specific standards, testing frameworks, and indigenous solutions aligned with global benchmarks.

Driving India’s Influence in Global Telecom Standards

Under the MoU, TEC and IIT Kanpur will work together to enhance India’s active participation and leadership in international standard-setting bodies such as ITU-T, ITU-R, 3GPP, and other global radiocommunication forums. The collaboration aims to ensure that Indian technical expertise, deployment realities, and innovation priorities are reflected in global telecom standards.

The agreement was signed on 8 January 2026 by Shri Amit Kumar Srivastava, DDG (Mobile Technologies), TEC, and Prof. Tarun Gupta, Dean (R&D), IIT Kanpur, in the presence of Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur, Prof. Rohit Budhiraja, and Shri Shashi Mohan, DDG (Information Technology), TEC.

Focus Areas: From 6G to Quantum-Safe Networks

The collaboration spans a wide spectrum of future-ready telecom technologies, including:

• 6G Technologies: Research on 6G architecture and enabling technologies, with contributions to pre-standardisation and global standards development through ITU and 3GPP.

• Telecom Networks & Architecture: Joint studies across 4G, 5G, LTE-A, NB-IoT, and future networks, covering signalling, protocols, interoperability, and testing frameworks.

• AI-Enabled Telecom Systems: Development of AI/ML-driven solutions for network automation, optimisation, and intelligent management—laying the foundation for AI-native telecom networks.

• Radio, Antenna & MIMO Technologies: Collaborative research on advanced antenna systems, massive MIMO, and next-generation radio access technologies.

• Satellite & Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs): Joint studies on satellite communications, HAPS, satellite–terrestrial integration, and disaster-resilient emergency connectivity.

• IoT, Digital Twins & Immersive Systems: Research on large-scale IoT ecosystems, digital twin applications, and immersive communication platforms.

• Quantum Communication: Studies on quantum key distribution (QKD), post-quantum cryptography (PQC), quantum random number generation (QRNG) and secure communication components.

Boosting Atmanirbhar Bharat in Telecom

The partnership directly supports the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision by strengthening indigenous research, design, testing, and manufacturing capabilities in the telecom sector. By developing India-specific standards and test frameworks, the collaboration aims to reduce dependence on imports, secure critical communications infrastructure, and accelerate the deployment of home-grown telecom technologies.

Officials said the initiative will also help Indian industry align early with global standards, shortening innovation-to-market timelines and improving export competitiveness.

A Call to Action for Industry, Startups and Researchers

The TEC–IIT Kanpur collaboration opens new opportunities for telecom manufacturers, startups, system integrators, chip designers, satellite companies, and deep-tech researchers to engage in co-development, trials, and standardisation efforts.

Early adopters are encouraged to align their R&D roadmaps with emerging standards in 6G, AI-native networks, NTNs and quantum-safe communications, and to participate in pilots, testing programmes, and global standard contributions driven from India.

As telecom evolves into the backbone of digital economies, this partnership signals India’s intent not just to adopt global standards—but to shape them.