IIT Kanpur Enters Into 6G Research Partnership with US-based InterDigital Inc

• 6G research partnership includes Extreme MIMO advancements for future wireless networks
• These advancements are critical for enabling 6G networks to scale and meet increased bandwidth and coverage demands of advanced applications such as metaverse, holographic communications, and digital twins
• InterDigital maintains a long heritage of technology innovation and collaboration and recognizes India’s leadership and significance in the global 6G wireless research and standards ecosystem

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) has announced a bilateral research partnership to develop 6G enabling technologies that impact future wireless standards with InterDigital, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDCC), a mobile and video technology research and development company. As part of the partnership, InterDigital will sponsor research and innovation at IIT-K in advancing Extreme MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output) systems to achieve higher spectrum efficiency and larger network coverage required for 6G network deployments. These advancements are critical for enabling 6G networks to scale and meet increased bandwidth and coverage demands of advanced applications such as metaverse, holographic communications, and digital twins.

Prof. S Ganesh, Officiating Director, IIT Kanpur said, "The partnership comes at an opportune moment when India has released the Bharat 6G Vision Document and has laid the foundation to becoming a world leader in 6G technology and has launched the 6G R&D Test Bed. The academia has a major role to play both in terms of advanced research leading to 6G standardization as well as developing technology components of the 6G."

This partnership is aligned with the growing collaboration between India and the United States around 6G research and standardization and follows a joint statement between the two countries at the recently-concluded G20 summit. The statement highlights the importance of joint research and development in 6G technologies and also acknowledges IIT Kanpur as a key collaborator.

“We are proud to formalize our partnership with IIT-K to explore and expand our expertise in the advanced technologies that will define our 6G future,” said Milind Kulkarni, VP and Head of Wireless Labs, InterDigital. “Collaboration adds fuel to our innovation and InterDigital’s commitment to collaborating with world-leading universities and institutions across India will positively impact our shared contributions to wireless standards bodies like 3GPP and TSDSI.”

InterDigital maintains a long heritage of technology innovation and collaboration and recognizes India’s leadership and significance in the global 6G wireless research and standards ecosystem. Most recently, India has displayed its influential contributions to global wireless evolution through the publication of the Bharat 6G Vision document, the launch of India’s 6G research and development test bed, and the visionary 6G standards being collaborated upon by Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDI) and other global standards organizations.

In addition to leading 6G road mapping efforts around the globe, InterDigital has a history of partnership in India spanning a decade, including collaborative research on cellular modem and IoT design centers. In 2021, InterDigital became a member of TSDSI to support the development of India’s wireless and video markets, the region’s upgrades to 5G and beyond, and migration to high-definition mobile video.

InterDigital® develops mobile and video technologies that are at the core of devices, networks, and services worldwide. We solve many of the industry’s most critical and complex technical challenges, inventing solutions for more efficient broadband networks, better video delivery, and richer multimedia experiences years ahead of market deployment. InterDigital has licenses and strategic relationships with many of the world’s leading technology companies. Founded in 1972, InterDigital is listed on Nasdaq.

InterDigital is a registered trademark of InterDigital, Inc

For more information, visit: www.interdigital.com.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur was established on 2nd November 1959 by an Act of Parliament. The institute has a sprawling campus spread over 1055 acres with a large pool of academic and research resources spanning across 19 departments, 22 centres, and 3 Interdisciplinary programs in engineering, science, design, humanities, and management disciplines with more than 540 full-time faculty members and approximately 9000 students. In addition to formal undergraduate and postgraduate courses, the institute has been active in research and development in areas of value to both industry and government.

IIT Hyderabad Takes Early Lead in 6G Wireless Tech 'MIMO' at Extreme Massive Scale

Representational

IITH takes an early lead in 6G research by showcasing key developments in the use of extreme massive MIMO technology

This is a 3-fold improvement over the state-of-the-art 5G massive MIMO technology

Spectrum is a scarce natural resource. The extreme massive MIMO technology developed by IITH showcased possibilities of a 3-fold increase in 5G spectrum utilization

MEITY and DOT have supported the R&D over the last 10-years

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) today announced a demonstration of the Extreme Massive MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), a key technology that is being considered for 5G-advanced and 6G deployments. 

For an uninitiated, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) is a wireless technology that is used for sending and receiving multiple data signals simultaneously over the same radio channel.

“Using multiple antennas at the base station, massive MIMO increases the coverage and capacity of cellular networks. This technology has become mainstream and is now an integral part of 5G. Extreme massive MIMO refers to next-generation technology that uses very large antenna arrays. IITH developed an experimental research prototype with the aim to discover achievable performance limits. The first set of pilots conducted using 192 antennas and 48 radio frequency chains showed that up to 24-36 users could be served in the same spectrum. This is a 3-fold improvement over the state-of-the-art 5G massive MIMO technology, designed to support 12 simultaneous users. For cellular operators and users, this technology offers immense benefits; cell phone users will experience high-quality voice and video delivery in crowded areas like airports, malls, railway stations, etc.; cellular operators will be able to offer broadband wireless internet in rural households, dynamic steering of the cell site beams to reduce coverage holes in urban as well as rural areas”, said Prof Kiran Kuchi, Dean (R&D).

Prof Sai Dhiraj, the Lead Researcher for the project, said, “The research team at IITH continues to extend the boundaries of this technology. The ongoing investigations include new deployment topologies for indoor applications and outdoor cell sites. We are excited about this discovery and the possibilities offered by this new technology”.

Congratulating the IITH team for this noteworthy work, Prof B S Murty, Director, IITH, said, “Spectrum is a scarce natural resource. In countries like India, with a large population and limited wireline infrastructure, the demand for spectrum will continue to be very high. I am delighted that India takes an early lead in 6G research by showcasing the possibility of deploying next-generation networks using the extreme Massive MIMO technology developed by IITH. I also thank DOT and MEITY for the sustained R&D support over the years".

Expressing delight for this momentous milestone, Shri K Rajaraman, Secretary DOT, said, "IIT Hyderabad has been leading from the front in IP development. Their work on NB-IoT and other areas as part of the 5G testbed has been remarkable. We in the Department of Telecommunications are delighted to hear of the development of the Extreme Massive MIMO heralding even greater efficiency in the use of spectrum. I am sure that the IITH research team will play a significant role in the Government of India's 5G advanced and 6G efforts”.

The researcher can be reached via our public relations cell at pro@iith.ac.in for any further queries on the subject matter.

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) is one of the eight new IITs established by the Government of India in 2008. In a short span of 14 years, the institute has become a top-ranker. Currently, it has 260+ full-time faculty, ~3,900 students, nearly 200+ state-of-the-art laboratories, and five research and entrepreneurship centers. The institute has a strong research focus with approx Rs 575+ crore of sanctioned research funding, with PhD scholars accounting for about 30% of total student strength. IITH has to its credit more than 7200+ research publications, 210+ patent disclosures, 1600+ sponsored/consultancy projects, and about 100+ startups.

To know more, please visit: https://www.iith.ac.in/