Forging Strategic Partnership with the Launch of the India-UK Connectivity & Innovation Centre

India and the United Kingdom in collaboration have launched the Connectivity and Innovation Centre which aims to boost the development of digital connectivity and innovation. The initiative was showcased at India Mobile Congress in 2025.

The joint venture initiative is to receive a collaborative investment of 31.7 million USD over the following four years.

According to press release by the Ministry of Communications (India), "This funding will support applied research among established UK and Indian research centres, industry-academic partnerships, joint test beds, and targeted collaboration in global technical standards development."

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2177510

The initiated program will focus on three areas:

• Transforming telecom with AI – using advanced AI tools to optimise networks, improve efficiency, and unlock new services.
• Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) – developing satellite and airborne systems to deliver reliable, high-speed connectivity to rural and remote areas.
• Telecoms Cybersecurity – strengthening network security and developing open and interoperable solutions, to make communication systems more resilient and more reliable for businesses and consumers.

The press release further emphasised to "bring together complementary strengths in the UK and Indian innovation in advanced connectivity, linking cutting-edge research at universities, with lab testing and field trials, through to market deployment”.

The recent initiative is delivered as part of the UK-India Technology Security Initiative jointly by UKRI and DoT.

In 2024, India and the UK carried joint research into open RAN systems, telecom security, spectrum innovation, and software and systems architecture.

Additionally, both nations cemented their partnership through joint collaboration of UK’s SONIC Labs and India’s Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to refine the security and performance of telecom networks. Both nations are working jointly promote 6G technology.

The close association between the British and Indian telecom industries gave UK’s Vodafone Group an opportunity to enter the Indian market in the past. It continues to exist post the merger with Idea of the Aditya Birla Group. It is India’s third largest service provider, Vodafone Idea.

Furthermore, India’s Bharti Group, parent company of Airtel, has acquired a 24.5% stake in UK telecom incumbent BT. Bharti Group has also invested in UK satellite company OneWeb, which has merged with Eutelsat.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DPtpxnUEZxd/?igsh=MWRmbmJoejNzbzMxeA==

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