C-DOT teams up with IIT Roorkee and IIT Mandi for developing ‘Cell-Free’ 6G access points

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the R&D arm of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), is collaborating 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 signed between C-DOT and the two IITs under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme, provides for funding support to the two IITs for developing this technology.

The Department of Telecommunications provides funding support to companies, startups, academia and R&D institutions involved in technology design, development, commercialisation of telecommunication products and solutions in India.

Traditional mobile networks, including 4G-5G, use cellular topologies where each cell is serviced by a single base station to service mobile customers. ‘Cell-free’ multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) technology, on the other hand, deploys multiple access points (APs) across vast areas to serve several devices at the same time, doing away with the idea of cells and coverage areas. 

Deployment of a large number of APs that are accessible to every user within their access limits, ensures uninterrupted connectivity to all users and eliminates the possibility of loss of connectivity while enhancing signal strengths and data speeds even in densely populated areas.

The Cell-free 6G project, while developing APs for 6G radio access networks, will also help standardise 6G products and systems, commercialise technology, generate intellectual property rights (IPRs), and make available skilled workforce needed for 6G ecosystem.

The project also aims at providing affordable broadband and mobile services, in order to bridge the digital divide.