PM Modi Inaugurates ITU Area Office, Hails India For Becoming Big Exporter Of Telecom Technology

During the inauguration ceremony of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area Office and Innovation Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is moving fast to become a big exporter of telecom technology from being only a user a few years ago.

PM Modi on telecom technology

While addressing a gathering, PM Modi said India is one of the countries to have rolled out 5G mobile technology at the fastest pace.

He said the services have been expanded to 125 cities within 120 days of the launch of 5G.

The prime minister said, “Within 6 months of the rollout of 5G technology we are talking about 6G.” This, he said shows the confidence of the country.

“Before 4G, India was only a user of telecom technology, but now India is moving fast to become a big exporter of telecom technology,” he said.

Moreover, the prime minister has also announced that in the upcoming days, India will set up 100 new 5G labs.

“These labs will help in developing 5G applications as per the unique needs of India,” he said.

‘Techade’

While highlighting India’s telecom and digital model is smooth, secure, transparent and trusted, the prime minister said this decade is ‘Techade.’

During the event, PM Modi also talked about India’s telecom success story. He said the number of internet users has increased from 25 crores in 2014 to 85 crores with the majority in rural areas.

Also, he added the government and private sector together have laid over 25 lakh kilometres of optical fibre in the last nine years.

Bharat 6G Vision Document

Emphasizing the upgradation of the country over telecommunication, PM Modi unveiled the Bharat 6G Vision Document and launched the 6G R&D Test Bed.

The Bharat 6G Vision Document is prepared by the Technology Innovation Group on 6G (TIG-6G) that was constituted in November 2021 with members from various ministries/departments, research and development institutions, academia, standardization bodies, telecom service providers and industry to develop a road map and action plans for 6G in India.

The prime minister also launched the ‘Call before u dig’ mobile app.

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What is ITU?

ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs). Headquartered in Geneva, it has a network of field offices, regional offices and area offices.

On March 2022, India signed a Host Country Agreement with ITU for the establishment of an area office. The area office in India also envisaged having an Innovation Centre embedded in it, making it unique among other area offices of ITU.

According to the officials, the new area office, fully funded by India, is located on the second floor of the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) building at Mehrauli in New Delhi.

It will serve India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Iran, enhancing coordination among nations and fostering mutually beneficial economic cooperation in the region, a statement said.