IIT-M and Keysight extend MoU as India plans to launch 6G in 2030.
In spite of the 5G getting ready for rollout, 6G is continuing to emerge with its unique capabilities and use case coverage. To help accelerate this innovation, Keysight Technologies has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
The previous MoU signed by both parties in August 2020, supported the Telecom Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) for the development of India-specific 5G standards. This encouraged Indian startups and the telecom industry to take an early lead in 5G as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) funded the ‘5G Testbed’ project which closely resembled a real-world 5G deployment using equipment developed by Keysight.
The new MoU extends this existing engagement to go beyond 5G design and test into 6G research as India plans to launch 6G services in the country by 2030.
Sudhir Tangri, VP and Country General Manager of Keysight India said, “India has already paved the way for rapid expansion of technology in manufacturing, infrastructure, education, agriculture, and healthcare with the successful multi-band 5G auctions and is now positioned to be one of the top global markets for 5G. As a founding member of the 6G Flagship Program, we are pleased to extend our current 5G partnership with IITM into new groundbreaking 6G research to contribute to India’s forward-looking 6G plans.”
Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Professor at IIT Madras added, “IIT Madras has been working on various 5G technologies and demonstrated indigenous end-to-end 5G system partnering with other institutions. Keysight test equipment has been instrumental to the development of the system and Keysight has provided invaluable support in solving some of the technical problems. With the advent of 6G, IIT Madras plans to take the next steps in strengthening its collaboration with Keysight. This MoU provides a framework for working together on the next-generation beyond-5G and 6G technologies. IITM looks forward to a fruitful collaboration with Keysight.”
