Interview with Dr Rajkumar Upadhyay: “We must ensure self-reliance in telecom”

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has been at the forefront of introducing key communication technologies in India. It is playing a significant role in strengthening India’s indigenous 5G ecosystem while actively contributing to the nation’s 6G vision. In an interview with tele.net, Dr Rajkumar Upadhyay, Chief Executive Officer, C-DOT, talked about India’s telecom journey, C-DOT’s evolving role and future focus areas. Edited excerpts…

How would you assess the progress of India’s telecom sector over the past 25 years?

The past 25 years have been nothing less than extraordinary for India’s telecom sector. From being a country with low telecom penetration and limited access in the late 1990s, it has grown into one of the world’s biggest and most connected telecom markets. Today, India has more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers, with an overall teledensity of 86 per cent and 924 million broadband subscribers. Affordable tariffs, large-scale infrastructure deployment and rapid digitalisation have fuelled this transformation.

From a research and development (R&D) standpoint, India has come a long way. From early reliance on imported technologies, it has gradually shifted towards building indigenous capabilities. Programmes such as Atmanirbhar Bharat, Digital India, Startup India, BharatNet and Make in India have been key drivers for fostering local innovation. There has been significant progress in developing home-grown technologies, such as indigenous 4G and 5G systems, cybersecurity solutions, and quantum-secured communications.

Emphasis on indigenous technologies and the introduction of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme have spurred local manufacturing. With a production value of around $50 billion and exports of around $20 billion, mobile phones have become one of the key success stories of PLI. India now meets almost 97 per cent of its total mobile phone demand through domestic production. Value addition using the indigenous supply chain for mobile phones is increasing progressively.

How has the role of C-DOT evolved during this period? What were the key milestones?

Initially, when C-DOT was established, the primary mission was to bridge the rural-urban connectivity divide through innovations such as the rural automatic exchange, which was later upgraded to the main automatic exchange for urban markets. Over time, we transitioned to address advanced telecom needs, keeping pace with global technological developments.

In the early 2000s, C-DOT began focusing on optical and wireless technologies, developing various commercial-grade optical and Wi-Fi solutions such as GPON, which saw deployments in BharatNet Phase I. With the development of asynchronous transfer mode technology, C-DOT stepped in to meet the strategic needs of the country, developing world-class secured indigenous telecom solutions for various agencies. It also delivered various projects for the government to meet national security requirements.

Recently, we indigenously developed 4G/5G NSA core and radio solutions for telcos and the railways and defence sectors. 4G/5G core is already deployed across India in BSNL’s network, and the roll-out of 100,000 radio sites is in progress. Currently, core serves around 13 million customers simultaneously and generates 2.6 petabytes of data across more than 70,000 radio sites from Tejas Networks.

We have also developed an indigenous disaster management communication solution for the National Disaster Management Authority. The solution is already operational in all 36 states and union territories. Cybersecurity solutions support both national and enterprise-level operations for real-time cyberthreat monitoring, detection, reporting and compliance in telecom networks. We delivered a digital intelligence platform, Sanchar Saathi, for the DoT, which provides citizen-centric services such as reporting and tracing lost mobile phones, and reporting fraudulent connections and calls. This platform has helped curb the misuse of telecom resources (mobile SIMs). We also deployed a centralised international out roamer system capable of blocking around 13 million calls a day that reached our gateways using spoofed Indian numbers. In the emerging field of quantum communication, we have developed quantum-secured solutions such as quantum key distribution and post quantum cryptography encryptors. C-DOT, along with IIT Madras, is leading the hub for quantum communications under the government’s National Quantum Mission.

What are your current focus areas?

• Mobile communication: We have developed indigenous solutions for 4G/5G, including core and ORAN. These will be further enhanced as per the new releases of the 3GPP. The groundwork for 6G technologies has also started in collaboration with the industry.
• Telecom security: We have developed multiple cybersecurity solutions, which are being enhanced given that threats are increasing at unprecedented levels. We are also enhancing our enterprise cybersecurity solution to help enterprises guard against cyberthreats to IT infrastructure.
• Quantum-secured communication: Our quantum solutions are undergoing field trials in many strategic agencies, government offices, academic institutes, etc. Some universities have deployed our solution for carrying out further research. Our priority is to extend these solutions to banks, defence and other critical sectors.
• Telecom applications: Our common alert protocol-based early disaster management solutions and cell broadcast solutions have been critical in saving lives during disasters by disseminating near real-time warnings/messages. These solutions will be further enhanced and taken to global markets. Our oneM2M-based IoT service layer is being deployed in the railways, and more applications will be deployed in diverse sectors in collaboration with start-ups.
• AI-driven solutions: Our AI-based solution ASTR and Digital Intelligence Unit have helped the government remove around 30 million fraudulent connections from the system.

What is your view on India’s 5G progress?

India has made commendable progress on 5G, achieving one of the fastest 5G roll-outs globally, with around 500,000 5G-based radio towers installed. The rapid roll-out in urban and semi-urban areas has brought significant improvements in connectivity and data speeds. More applications and innovations will emerge gradually. However, there are still areas to improve. Expanding 5G access to rural areas, building a skilled workforce to manage networks, bringing more use cases to improve returns on investment for telcos, and addressing challenges in security through indigenous 5G networks will remain priorities for the sector.

C-DOT is playing a foundational role in strengthening India’s indigenous 5G ecosystem. Apart from developing 5G systems internally, we are working with start-ups and the industry to co-create 5G for export markets as well. Our aim is to provide cost-effective, vendor lock-in-free, scalable and secure 5G solutions for the country and global markets.

We have formed the India 5G Alliance, which promotes best practices, generates research ideas, and provides technical and financial support to ecosystem partners for 5G development and deployment. We have sanctioned sizeable grants to six start-ups for the development of 5G RAN. One such development is undergoing trials in the BSNL network. We are the implementation agency for DoT’s TTDF projects, overseeing multiple projects sanctioned for start-ups, academia and the industry in the areas of 5G and 6G. We are also supporting the ecosystem through 5G testbeds and innovation platforms to validate and commercialise 5G use cases.

What are your initiatives on the 6G front?

With 6G projected to become commercially available by 2030, we are actively contributing to the nation’s 6G vision, which outlines a strategic roadmap through the Bharat 6G Mission. C-DOT is collaborating with academia, start-ups and industry stakeholders as part of the Bharat 6G Alliance. Around 111 projects have been sanctioned under the TTDF scheme and we are the implementation agency for all the major projects. We are also running an IPR facilitation centre that provides assistance to start-ups in filing IPRs and resolving any patent disputes, including standard essential patents.

What are the biggest challenges that the sector faces from an R&D standpoint?

A significant portion of telecom services are provided through imported equipment, resulting in billions of dollars of imports. Developing a well-rounded indigenous equipment development ecosystem will lead to the generation of revenue and jobs in the country. Equally important is realising that telecom works as a feeding sector for other sectors and, therefore, we must ensure self-reliance in telecom from a national security perspective. In terms of R&D, compared to sectors such as defence and space where significant investments have led to notable successes, telecom still is underfunded. The ancillary industry for components, chips, printed circuit boards and raw materials, along a world-class testing environment, must also be developed through required incentives. More practical training should be incorporated into engineering curriculums to prepare students for the industry.

According to you, what key trends will shape the future of Indian telecom?

The future of Indian telecom will be shaped by several transformative trends, including the rapid adoption of 5G, the groundwork for 6G, the emergence of AI as a key technology and the growing emphasis on digital inclusion. With 5G deployment progressing rapidly, it is poised to revolutionise industries by enabling smart cities, IoT applications, Industry 4.0 and enhanced mobile broadband experiences. The increasing amount of data generated by IoT devices will necessitate edge computing. In addition, technologies such as AI, machine learning and quantum communication will see further advancements in their use cases. Sustainability and green telecom initiatives will also gain prominence, as the industry explores energy-efficient network designs and renewable energy integration.