BHUBANESWAR: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has urged engineering and research institutions to send proposals for setting up 5G test laboratories in Odisha. The Centre has planned 100 such labs across the country.The test labs will be set up in collaboration with other ministries and departments to explore 5G use cases for the respective government departments. While only one test lab has been set up at IIT, Chennai, 99 others will come up in a phased manner.
Additional director general (telecom) of DoT, Odisha UV Ramana said academic institutions, R&D institutions, centres of excellence and sector specific institutions with domain expertise in health, agriculture, transportation, industry, fintech, mining and smart cities should come forward and send their proposals.
“No state specific locations for the labs have been decided yet. A selection will be conducted at the national level based on the proposals from different institutions. The labs will test and evaluate developed products and applications or services that are utilising 5G technology,” he said.The DoT has also launched another initiative - ‘5G and Beyond Hackathon 2023,’ that is aimed at encouraging individuals, students, start-ups, companies, and academic institutions to transform their cutting-edge ideas into practical 5G based products and solutions.
A portal has been opened for online application and the last date of submission is July 31. As many as 100 startups will be awarded Rs 1 lakh each for the development of 5G and beyond products and solutions.Director (technology) Pankaj Kumar Chand said all district headquarters in Odisha have been connected with 5G network, which is now being provided by Jio and Airtel. “The maximum 7031 towers of Jio and 1433 towers of Airtel are now functional in the state. BSNL will set up its 4G network across the state by December. The 4G towers will be upgraded to 5G in phases,” he said.
On Friday, a workshop on 5G use cases was organsied to promote the integration of 5G technology into real-life products and services by fostering collaboration with startups and companies. Ten start-ups and firms showcased their innovative 5G-based products in the presence of senior officials from the Centre and state government.
Among others, Noida-based IG Drones showcased drones with spraying and analytics capabilities, Delhi-based ASADEL Technologies showcased their 4G/5G mobile-based screening of oral lesions for cancer and clinical assessment of human locomotion and gait in the elderly population.