Qualcomm partners C-DOT to accelerate development of indigenous telecom tech

The Center for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), a public-funded research institution focused on telecom technology by the Government of India has announced its plans to collaborate with Qualcomm Technologies, a subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc, to establish a strategic partnership that will foster innovation in India and support India-based developers and start-ups working on innovative products and use cases.

As per the understanding, Qualcomm will support C-DOT with expertise and best practices, state-of-the-art technology, intellectual property training and tools, for enabling Indian developers, academia, and OEMs, and fast-tracking the development and commercialisation of indigenous telecom solutions utilising Qualcomm wireless solutions and technologies.

Through this collaboration, C-DOT and Qualcomm Technologies will work towards the following broad objectives:
Facilitate access for the selected startups, OEMs and academia with foundational technologies and domain experts that will stimulate innovation and help them scale up their R&D efforts.

Accelerate the pace of commercialization and business development of Indian startups engaged in building indigenous telecom solutions.

Dr Neeraj Mittal, Chairman, Digital Communications Commission and Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications (MoC) said, “India’s developers, academia and startup ecosystem is at the forefront of driving innovation in the country. With immense pride in our nation’s cutting-edge research, we stand alongside Qualcomm Technologies in nurturing the entrepreneurial vigour in telecom technology. This initiative is a reaffirmation of our commitment to the government’s Design in India and Make in India vision, recognising the potential of homegrown startups to drive groundbreaking innovations and propel India’s leadership in the telecom landscape. Qualcomm Technologies’ leadership in connectivity and on device intelligent technologies will be essential to an Atmanirbhar Bharat. Our partnership will enable innovation across use cases and scale across device categories, including smartphones, next-gen PCs, XR devices, vehicles, and more.”

Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO, C-DOT, said “Our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies will help transition us to an era where innovation thrives, unlocking the vast potential of Indian R&D, accelerating the commercialisation of new products and use cases and fostering a vibrant ecosystem of startups. I’m very excited about this partnership that pools our resources and paves the way for indigenous telecom solutions for India and for the world. I’m very excited about this partnership, with access to Qualcomm technologies and the highly skilled local team will accelerate the local ecosystems to develop and commercialise 5G FWA and mmWave solutions and use cases, driving leading edge Wi-Fi experiences ranging from 200Mbps to 10Gbps+ performance.”

Savi Soin, SVP and President, Qualcomm India said “India has a thriving developer and startup ecosystem driven by enormous technology talent. The recent initiatives by the government have been key in making India a growth conducive market for tech companies of various scales. With the government’s push for Design in India coupled with growing adoption of 5G and on device-AI, we see greater scope for innovations. We take pride in being India’s trusted partner for accelerating its digital journey. We look forward to the close strategic collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies, DoT and C-DOT to help accelerate India’s growth story in the years to come. The scale and capability of our India R&D centres across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Noida are ready to support the local ecosystem towards a vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

Gautam Sheoran, VP and General Manager, Wireless and Broadband Communications, Qualcomm Technologies said, “We are excited to partner with C-DOT in our shared commitment to fostering innovation. Over the years, our technologies have been at the forefront of enabling growth for the start-up ecosystem and will continue to support developers, start-ups, and young entrepreneurs across India in close collaboration with C-DOT. Our R&D investment in India and our startup incubation programs are testament to the potential we foresee in the country.”

Qualcomm Design in India Challenge is Qualcomm’s flagship incubation program for hardware startups having dedicated engineering personnel and a laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment and prototype platforms in Bengaluru to support the startups. In 2020, Qualcomm launched yet another startup initiative – Qualcomm Women Entrepreneur India Network, a mentorship program for women-founded startups. Recently Qualcomm announced the expansion of its Chennai Design Centre in Tamil Nadu which specialises in development of wireless connectivity solutions, reinforcing the Qualcomm’s commitment to staying at the forefront of the wireless communications industry.