IIT-M license 5G networks to Tata Sons group
At the 5G Testbed, the hardware, firmware, and software are being developed for the 5G base station in India.
IIT-Madras
CHENNAI: In one of the largest technology transfer deals from academia in India, a 5G RAN (Radio Access Network) technology developed by a multi-institutional team has been licensed to an industry partner TEJAS NETWORKS (A Tata group company) for a sum of Rs 12 crore.
"IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, and the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) developed a '5G RAN sub-system' at the 5G Test Bed. The three institutions are jointly licensing the 5G RAN technology to TEJAS NETWORKS (A Tata group company) who will play a vital role in leveraging it for further advancements and commercial applications. TEJAS NETWORKS will be paying a Transfer of Technology (ToT) non-exclusive, licence fee of Rs 12 crore in multiple instalments based on technical milestones," a statement from IIT-Madras read.
"I am very pleased that TEJAS NETWORKS is planning to adopt this 5G RAN technology developed indigenously by a multi-institutional team of researchers. This initiative is in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of the Government of India," said V Kamakoti, Director of IIT-Madras while addressing the media after the formal exchange ceremony of the Licensing agreement here on its campus.
"This is an outstanding example of how translational research must happen in an inter-institutional, interdisciplinary manner. This is a great example of how research should translate into a product and then get deployed. I hope a billion users of our country will benefit from this technology," he noted.
"This sets a new benchmark in industry-academia collaboration in India's high-technology sector. As India's leading R-amp;D driven telecom products company, we look forward to translating these cutting-edge innovations and integrating them into industry-leading products and solutions for India and the world," said Kumar N Sivarajan, CTO of Tejas Networks.
At the 5G Testbed, the hardware, firmware, and software are being developed for the 5G base station in India.
The 5G base station forms the radio access network (RAN) part of the 5G system.
The base station is connected to the core network on one side of an IP network and the user equipment (cell phones) on the radio side.
Sudhir K Marwaha, group coordinator CC; BT, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and others were present on the occasion.