Govt-recognised MSMEs, startups get 5G Test Bed free of cost up to Jan 2024

New Delhi, Feb 28 (KNN) The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications announced on Monday that it has offered the usage of 5G Test Bed free of cost to the Startups and MSMEs recognised by the Government of India up to January 2024.

All 5G stakeholders i.e. Industry, Academia, Service Providers, R&D Institutions, Govt. Bodies, Equipment Manufacturers etc. can utilise this facility at a very nominal rate, said the official press release.

This is being announced in order to encourage usage of the Test Bed and give a fillip to the development of indigenous technologies/ products in line with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision.

In March, 2018, keeping in view India’s specific requirements and to take lead in 5G deployment, the DoT approved financial grant for the multi-institute collaborative project to set up ‘Indigenous 5G Test Bed’ in India with total cost of Rs 224 crore.

The eight collaborating institutes in the project were IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER) and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT). 

The Indigenous 5G Test Bed was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minster, Shri Narendra Modi on May 17, 2022.

A web based portal (https://user.cewit.org.in/5gtb/index.jsp) has also been designed for access and usage of the Test Bed.

The 5G Test Bed is available at five locations viz., Integrated Test Bed at CEWiT/ IIT Madras and other Test Beds are at IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kanpur and IISc Bangalore.  (KNN Bureau)