In one of the largest technology transfer deals from academia in India, a 5G RAN (Radio Access Network) technology developed by a multi-institutional team has been licensed to an industry partner TEJAS NETWORKS (A Tata Group Company) for a sum of Rs 12 crore.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, IIT Kanpur and the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) developed a ‘5G RAN sub-system’ at the 5G Test Bed. The three institutions are jointly licensing the 5G RAN technology to TEJAS NETWORKS (A Tata Group Company) who will play a vital role in leveraging it for further advancements and commercial applications.
TEJAS NETWORKS will be paying a Transfer of Technology (ToT) non-exclusive, licence fee of Rs 12 crore in multiple instalments based on technical milestones.
The licensing agreement formal exchange ceremony was held on Monday, December 11, at the IIT Madras campus.
Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras; Dr Kumar N Sivarajan, CTO of TEJAS NETWORKS (A Tata Group Company); Pro Bhaskar Ramamurthi, IIT Madras; Dr P Hanumantha Rao, Director General, SAMEER; Prof Rohit Budhiraja, IIT Kanpur and Dr Radhakrishna Ganti, IIT Madras, who are the Principal Investigators of 5G Test bed from their respective institutes; and Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur and former Director, IIT Roorkee, representative on behalf of Director IIT Kanpur, were among the attendees of the event.
Addressing this landmark event, Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “I am very pleased that TEJAS NETWORKS is planning to adopt this 5G RAN technology developed indigenously by a multi-institutional team of researchers. This initiative is in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of the Government of India.”
