India and the UK have launched the India-UK Connectivity & Innovation Centre, formed with the aim of advancing next-generation telecommunications and fostering digital inclusion across both nations.
Announced at the recently concluded India Mobile Congress 2025, the Centre is backed by a joint commitment of £24 million over four years and will focus on delivering breakthroughs that can shape the path to 6G and beyond.
“This funding will support applied research among established UK and Indian research centres, industry-academic partnerships, joint testbeds, and targeted collaboration in global technical standards development,” says the press release.
The collaboration brings together the complementary strengths of UK research and India’s scale, connecting universities, industry, and government labs to create a unified platform for innovation, trial, and commercial deployment.
Over its initial period, the Centre will prioritise three critical areas: transforming telecom with artificial intelligence (AI) to optimise networks and services; developing non-terrestrial networks for high-speed connectivity in rural and remote regions; and strengthening telecom cybersecurity with open, interoperable solutions.
Delivered through the UK-India Technology Security Initiative, the Centre will leverage partnerships with industry players as well as academic and research institutions. It aims to support dual-country applied R&D, joint testbeds, and collaborations in global standards-setting—critical steps for economic, technological, and security gains across both markets.
This comes in the backdrop of existing strong partnerships between Indian and British telecom service providers. For instance, the parent company of Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest service provider, Bharti Enterprises, recently acquired a 24.5% stake in British Telecom (BT). Bharti Group also acquired a stake in OneWeb, which later merged with Eutelsat to create a global satellite service provider.
The partnership is significant for India, as it looks to boost its research in the communications space by partnering with other countries. It has a similar partnership with the US, where the two countries endeavor to work together to jointly research new-age technologies like 6G, among others.
