BENGALURU: India has launched an open-source platform to help organisations build private 5G networks. Developed by the Indian Open Source for Mobile Communication Networks (IOS-MCN) consortium, led by Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, the platform enables low-cost, secure and high-speed 5G deployment for factories, campuses and enterprises, marking a major step towards industry-ready private 5G solutions.

The newly released platform, named Agartala 0.4.0, enables organisations such as factories, campuses, research institutions and startups to build and operate their own private 5G networks.

These networks are designed to offer faster speeds, lower latency, improved reliability and stronger security compared to conventional Wi-Fi and public mobile networks, while remaining cost-effective, a press release said.

The platform is being developed by the IOS-MCN consortium, led by IISc, Bengaluru, along with IIT Delhi and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), with funding from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The initiative aims to strengthen India’s telecom and digital infrastructure.

Early pilot deployments led by ecosystem partners are expected to begin in the second half of 2026 across multiple sectors, marking a key milestone in India’s private 5G ecosystem, the release added.