The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) and Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi (IIT Mandi), for the development of ‘Cell-Free’ 6G access points.
The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The scheme has been designed for providing funding support to domestic companies, Indian start-ups, academia and research and development (R&D) institutions involved in technology design, development, commercialisation of telecommunication products and solutions.
Cell-free MIMO (massive multiple-input multiple-output) eliminates traditional cell boundaries used in mobile networks like 4G and 5G. Instead of relying on a single base station to serve each cell, it employs numerous access points (APs) spread across a large area to simultaneously support multiple user devices. This approach allows each user to connect to multiple APs, ensuring robust connectivity, reducing dead zones, enhancing signal strength, and significantly increasing data speeds. As a result, users experience improved service quality, even in densely populated areas.
In addition, this project will focus on developing APs for enabling the upcoming 6G radio access networks, and also aims to contribute to the 6G standardisation activity, drive commercialisation, generate intellectual property rights (IPRs), and develop a skilled workforce to support the emerging 6G landscape.
