In the works: Telecom Patent Fund to access costly tech, drive innovation

DoT plans fund to acquire critical licences from global firms for startups and SMEs, boost indigenous R&D

In a bid to bolster innovation and support indigenous technology development, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is working on instituting a Telecom Patent Fund (TPF). This fund aims to provide vital support to startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), academia, and Indian companies by facilitating the acquisition and licensing of expensive patented technology, spanning both hardware and software.

The TPF would be used to acquire licences of crucial patented technology from global corporations or patent-holders to assist domestic telecom companies, particularly SMEs, which often face hurdles in accessing these directly because of cost constraints. The proposed fund would manage the licensing of intellectual property rights (IPR) at a national level.

By bridging this gap, the fund also aims to empower institutes and academia to accelerate their research and development (R&D) endeavours, and also foster an ecosystem of innovation in domestic telecom companies, thereby helping them build indigenous technology and enhance product localisation.

Initial funding for the TPF may come from the Telecom Technology Development Fund, with additional support from various other channels. 

“Many countries around the world (such as the United States and China) have such funds,” said a senior DoT official, highlighting the significance of the initiative. “What we envision is a fund that will nationally acquire licences of critical patents in key technology areas, for both software and hardware, and make them accessible to startups, SMEs, academia and home-grown companies that otherwise struggle to afford them.” The fund aims to catalyse growth for domestic telecom companies, the official added.

The rapidly evolving landscape of telecom technology, where innovations have increasingly shorter shelf lives, also underscores the need for such a fund. Moreover, stringent and changing standards, escalating R&D costs, and concerns around security, privacy and legal compliance further accentuate the requirement for indigenous solutions. There is also the matter of reducing overreliance on foreign technology.

Discussions with stakeholders have outlined plans to establish an independent entity under the Universal Service Obligation Fund, or USOF, to implement the TPF. (USOF aims to provide widespread and non-discriminatory access to affordable quality telecom services.)

The proposed TPF aligns with India's broader initiatives in technology development, one of them being the Indian Semiconductor Mission. Under this mission, the government has, for instance, procured expensive electronic design automation, or EDA, tools in bulk from global players such as Cadence and Synopsys, and made them available to over 140 universities and colleges for free. This has helped the institutes to train the next generation of engineers with live tools for making semiconductors.

Fund facts
 

* DOT’s proposed Telecom Patent Fund to acquire licences of patented hardware & software tech directly from global corporations, patent-holders
 

* Expensive patented tech to be made accessible to startups, SMEs, academia, domestic companies
 

* Aim is to facilitate R&D, innovation, development of indigenous tech
 

* Initial funding for TPF may come from Telecom Technology Development Fund, other channels