NTIPRIT Hosts Workshop on 5G Use Case Labs at IIT Gandhinagar

Ghaziabad: The National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT), operating under the aegis of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), recently organized a two-day workshop on “5G Use Case Labs: Awareness and Pre-Commissioning Readiness” at IIT Gandhinagar. The event, graced by Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of Gujarat, saw enthusiastic participation from more than 100 attendees representing 18 institutions across the Western region.

The workshop aimed to foster innovation in 5G technology use cases, with a specific focus on establishing a hundred 5G Use Case Labs nationwide, funded by the DoT. These labs, to be set up in 18 institutions of the Western Region alongside IIT Gandhinagar, are part of the broader initiative announced during the India Mobile Congress last October. Spearheaded by the Standards-R&D-Innovation (SRI) division at DoT headquarters, the establishment and operationalization of these labs are meticulously managed to ensure timely installation and effective utilization by faculty, students, and start-up communities.

Addressing the gathering, Mona Khandhar emphasized the pivotal role of developing use cases for the optimal utilization of 5G networks and urged for the expedited rollout of the 100 5G Labs. She stressed the importance of enhanced coordination among academic institutions to leverage these labs effectively, commending the DoT for its proactive initiative in their establishment. Professor Amit Prashant, Dean of Research and Development at IIT Gandhinagar, highlighted the imperative of innovation and praised the initiative for its potential societal impact. Shri Robert Ravi, Deputy Director General (SRI) at DoT, and Shri Atul Sinha, Deputy Director General at NTIPRIT, also shared their insights during the event.

Throughout the workshop, various potential use cases of 5G technology were presented by startups and industry representatives, including M/s RJIO, M/s Elena Geo Systems, M/s CEQU Labs, M/s QPiAI India Pvt Limited, and M/s Finnara Technologies Pvt Limited. These use cases spanned sectors such as enterprises, education, agriculture, health, and e-commerce. Deliberations were held among faculty members from IIT Gandhinagar, engineering colleges of the Western Region, industry representatives, researchers, students, and DoT officers.

The event concluded with a panel discussion featuring Ajatshatru Somani, Additional Director General Telecom Gujarat LSA; Atul Sinha, Deputy Director General at NTIPRIT; Robert Ravi, Deputy Director General (SRI) at DoT; Professor Sameer Kulkarni from IIT Gandhinagar; Sanjay, General Manager at TCIL; and Rajesh Gupta, Deputy Director General (Wireless Access) at NTIPRIT.