The official said that from the current scenario, an advanced 5G will come which will eventually lead to the 6G era.
Department of Telecom (DoT) Deputy Director General RK Pathak said that they have supported 100 startups and MSMEs with grants of over Rs 110 crore for 5G applications.
Department of Telecom (DoT) Deputy Director General RK Pathak on Wednesday said that they are taking necessary steps to make India a 6G technology exporter.
Speaking to News18 at the day-long event at the Dr Ambedkar International Center to mark World Telecom Day, Pathak said the exhibition showcased 5G applications by startups and MSMEs supported by the Department of Telecom. “We have funded around 100 startups and MSMEs with over Rs 110 crore as grant. More than 17 such companies have come here for the exhibition.
The DoT official highlighted that India has 4G and 5G stacks, many of which have been contributed by startups. He added: “The 5G core at the exhibition is being displayed by some of the startups who have developed their products with the help of DoT.”
“There are some startups that have developed Radio Access Networks (RANs), which is a 5G device that we see on towers,” he said.
Furthermore, Pathak said that there are a lot of applications associated with 5G at the moment. For example, if there is a gas emission in a manhole, 5G-connected sensors will detect if there is any toxic gas. “The focus is on how 5G can help. In rural India, an accredited social health worker or ASHA worker, who is a simple nurse, can use the technology for the betterment of the entire village by following the instructions given by qualified doctors, who may be in any other part of the country or abroad. I may be sitting. ,” said the DOT official.
‘6G: A natural progression’
Pathak told News18 that 6G is a natural progression of 5G. From the current scenario, an advanced 5G will come, which will eventually lead to the 6G era.
“The PM has already given us the 6G vision. DoT already has an Apex Council for the implementation of the document, and we are taking a lot of action. The first is how can we impact the 6G requirement. We are participating in defining the Indian requirement in 6G. We are taking all actions with partners so that we can become a technology exporter in terms of 6G.”
Startups appreciate the support
Several startups News18 spoke to said that the government has provided them support.
Highlighting the indigenous products, Shovana Uday Shankar, founder of oceanography deep tech company Finara Technology, said that the implementation of 5G technology will help her company move huge amounts of data to the cloud.
Another participant, Bangalore-based Sukta Consulting Pvt Ltd, which has RAN systems expertise, told News18, “There has been a lot of support from the DoT in terms of funding and collaboration opportunities.”
“For 5G, we have received funding mainly for enhancing and deploying the existing product and implementing some functionalities and features in our products so that we can go to Railways, BSNL and other customers,” he said. Said.
The Sukta spokesperson also said that earlier the required components were exported from other countries. “But in this current ecosystem with the support of DoT, we are aware of other MSMEs who are working on similar solutions and we can work with them to create indigenous solutions,” the spokesperson added.
