In a major move to bolster India’s indigenous telecom infrastructure, three prominent organizations — the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID) at IISc Bengaluru, the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at IIT Delhi, and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) — have joined forces to develop open-source communication networks for 5G, 5G Advanced, and 6G technologies.
This collaboration will aim to develop India's own 5G and 6G solutions using open-source tech. pic.twitter.com/o0cqi0GzDi
— DoT India (@DoT_India) April 14, 2025
These institutions have signed a landmark collaboration agreement, positioning themselves as the core “Strategic Partners” in a larger national effort. This broader initiative includes 16 additional partners from the telecom industry, R&D labs, startups, and academic institutions, all working together to advance India’s capabilities in next-generation wireless technologies.
The collaboration is part of a national project called the Indian Open-Source Platform for Mobile Communication Networks (IOS-MCN). This initiative aims to build a production-grade, open-source software stack for mobile networks, expanding upon the earlier IOS-5GN platform. It is supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), underlining the government’s commitment to telecom self-reliance.
Led from Bengaluru, New Delhi, and other tech hubs across the country, IOS-MCN is powered by a distributed team of over 70 technical experts. Despite the agreement being signed only recently, the project has already achieved a significant milestone. On January 31, 2025, the consortium released its first software version, IOS-MCN Agartala v0.1.0, which includes Open RAN-compliant radio components, a 5G core, and orchestration tools. The system has delivered promising results, achieving download speeds of 600–700 Mbps with latencies below 10 milliseconds.
This initiative represents a crucial step towards India’s telecom autonomy. By developing open-source solutions aligned with global standards like 3GPP and O-RAN, the project reduces reliance on imported technologies and lays the groundwork for cost-effective, scalable, and secure 5G and 6G infrastructure.
FSID, FITT, and C-DAC will jointly steer the project through the IOS-MCN Operating Committee, overseeing technical strategies, implementation, and partner coordination. By bringing together academia, startups, and industry, the platform aims to co-create solutions that are not only innovative but also ready for real-world deployment. This partnership strengthens India’s vision for a secure, open, and future-ready telecom ecosystem — built in India, for the world.
