<span style="color: #222222;">The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications said today that the Department will offer the indigenous 5G testbed free of cost to government-recognised startups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) up to January next year. All 5G stakeholders, including industry, academia, service providers, research and development institutions, government bodies and equipment manufacturers can also utilise this facility at a very nominal rate, said the Ministry of Communication.<br />''</span><br />''The move is expected to encourage usage of the Test Bed and give a fillip to the development of indigenous technologies or products in line with the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' vision, the statement added.<br />''<br />'' Several start-ups and companies are already using the Test Bed for testing their products and services. The 5G testbed is available at five locations. They include Integrated Test Bed at CEWiT/ IIT Madras and other Test Beds at IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kanpur and IISc Bangalore.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">The Indigenous 5G Test Bed was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May last year. </span><br />