We are honored to announce that the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) has been conferred the distinguished 5G Use Cases Labs award as part of the Government of India's "100 5G Use Cases Labs Initiative." This initiative is designed to nurture expertise and encourage active engagement in 5G and future technologies among students, educators, researchers, and the emerging startup community.

This visionary 5G Use Cases Labs program, introduced in the 2023-24 national budget, will be supervised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India.

On 27 October 2023, the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi officially presented the award to IIST and selected other Universities during the inauguration of the Indian Mobile Congress 2023 (IMC-2023) at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Organized by the DoT in collaboration with the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), IMC 2023 is a testament to India's commitment to digital advancement.

The state-of-the-art 5G Use Cases Labs at IIST Trivandrum will be a beacon of technological excellence, featuring advanced 5G cellular infrastructure and tools. Importantly, IIST will retain full ownership of the Lab Assets.

Key Objectives of the Initiative:

*Foster expertise in 5G technologies within the academic community.

*Support undergraduate and postgraduate projects centered on 5G.

*Promote collaborations between academia and industry for 5G innovations.

*Provide startups and MSMEs nearby with a 5G testing environment.

*Equip the Indian academic and startup sectors for the upcoming 6G era.