DoT announces the 5G Innovation Hackathon 2025 will begin.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has unveiled the 5G Innovation Hackathon 2025, a six-month program designed to speed up the creation of innovative solutions powered by 5G to tackle societal and industrial issues. Available for students, startups, and professionals, the program offers mentorship, funding, and entry to more than 100 5G Use Case Labs, allowing participants to turn innovative concepts into scalable technologies.

The hackathon seeks submissions centered on crucial 5G applications including AI-powered network upkeep, IoT-based solutions, 5G broadcasting, intelligent healthcare, agriculture, industrial automation, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), D2M, V2X, and quantum communication.

 Participants are urged to utilize 5G capabilities such as network slicing, Quality of Service (QoS), and call-flow scenarios to solve real-world issues. The hackathon provides various support systems to assist participants in advancing their innovations further. Participants will receive support in filing IPR to commercialize their intellectual property assets.

The hackathon includes multiple phases, ranging from proposal submission to final assessment. Proposals are sent to the Department of Telecommunications, and chosen teams get support. The leading 25-50 teams move on to the Pragati Phase, where they obtain seed funding and guidance. The last phase, Evaluation and Showcase, includes demonstrating prototypes to a Technical Expert Evaluation Committee. The winners are set to be revealed in October 2025, with the leading teams presenting their innovations at the India Mobile Congress.

The 5G Innovation Hackathon 2025, backed by a ₹1.5 crore budget, seeks to create more than 50 scalable 5G prototypes, produce over 25 patents, enhance collaboration among academia, industry, and government, and promote startup development. Victors will obtain substantial prizes, such as ₹5,00,000 for first position, ₹3,00,000 for second place, and ₹1,50,000 for third place. The hackathon supports India’s objective to take the lead in 5G innovation.