Government launches India’s first 5G testbed

The government has launched the country’s first 5G testbed with an aim to support the telecom industry and startups to validate their products, prototypes and solutions in 5G, as well as next-generation technologies. The testbed facility will be available at five different locations. It has been developed at an estimated cost of Rs 2.2 billion as a multi-institute collaborative project by a total of eight institutes, led by IIT Madras. Mean­while, Ashwini Vaishnaw, union minister of communications, electronics and information technology, has announced the successful testing of 5G calls at IIT Madras.