India’s First 5G Testing Lab To Be Free For IoT Startups

Internet of Things (IoT) platform Cavli Wireless, in partnership with Kerala-based Maker’s Village, is looking to set up India’s first 5G network testing lab to allow Indian startups and companies to test their products and solutions.

The platform is likely to be launched in the third quarter of 2020, ending September. Cavli Wireless has assured that the access to the 5G test network will be free of charge for Indian IoT startups, who are looking to develop solutions compliant with the global standards.

The company also added that it will provide six-month access to its global IoT connectivity platform. The platform will enable users to power local machine to machine (M2M) data connectivity for their solutions globally. This will be supported by Cavli’s data partnerships with telecom operators across the globe.

John Mathew, chief technology architect at Cavli Wireless, believes that this lab will inspire several startups and companies to test their IoT products and prototypes for the latest 5G technology standards. The tests will be available with 5G SA and NSA modes, which support sub 6 Ghz bands, along with LTE NB-IOT and CAT-M for LPWAN side of the IoT.

Besides this, Cavli Wireless will also allow users to test their products with C200-Series 5G IoT cellular modules/modems and the C1X, C3X, C4X series cellular IoT modules and modems, which are scheduled to be launched later this year.

“The launch of 5G technologies is expected to have a transformative effect on society, especially with the development of smart cities. Cavli, with its innovative suite of solutions, is here to ensure that IoT solution developers are able to experience the power of 5G technology, through the test platform that will be set up,” Mathew added.

The announcement comes a month after the department of telecommunication (DoT), along with other government departments and private companies, launched a 5G Hackathon to identify and promote India-centric uses of 5G technology. The hackathon was launched on February 21 and will conclude on October 16 at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC).

The hackathon will be conducted over three phases. The organisers will select 100 ideas, who will share a prize pool of INR 2.5 Cr. These ideas need to be based on 5G technology across several categories — healthtech, education, governance, agritech, environment, public safety and disaster management enterprise, smart cities and infrastructure, cybersecurity, banking, finance and insurance, logistics and transportation, media and broadcasting.

Out of the 100 startups, only 30 will be shortlisted and mentored. The hackathon has invited startups, developers, students, SMEs, academic institutions and registered Indian companies to participate in the hackathon.