Govt announces three-phase 5G Hackathon; total prize pool of Rs 2.5 crore for winners

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Friday launched '5G Hackathon' in association with a number of government, academia & industry stakeholders, a government statement said. This was done with a view to identify and promote applications relevant to India in the 5G realm, the statement adedd.

The Hackathon will be spread across three phases beginning from February 21, 2020, and culminate in a grand felicitation ceremony at India Mobile Congress on October 16, 2020, the release said. The winners of various phases will share a total prize pool of Rs 2.5 crores and an opportunity to scale and implement their 5G applications to make them market-ready, the release said.

5G technology provides quantum leap over 4G in terms of speed, peak data rate, latency, spectrum efficiency and connection density. The most distinct feature is applications in different economic verticals, the release said. 

Various phases of the Hackathon broadly include -- preliminary submission of ideas, selection of 100 best ideas, mentorship and support from the Hackathon partners, development of solutions/products, selection and testing of 30 best solutions/ products on 5G trial network. In the final phase, 3 best ideas will be felicitated at the India Mobile Congress (IMC), 2020.

Participants can develop 5G solutions from across 10 categories including Healthcare, Education & Governance, AgriTech & Livestock, Environment, Public Safety & Disaster Management Enterprise, Smart Cities & Infrastructure, Cyber Security, Banking, Finance & Insurance, Logistics & Transportation, Multimedia & Broadcast, among others.

The 5G Hackathon is open to developers, students, start-ups, SMEs, academic institutions & registered companies in India & NRIs, the release said. Stakeholders can participate as individuals or as a team to present use cases for the 5G network in the Indian context, it added.

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A jury comprising of academicians, industry leaders and subject experts from around the country will be established to facilitate assessment and shortlisting of submissions, the release said.