Date of Birth June 22, 1953

(i) Advanced Research

One of the key beliefs of the TeNeT group is that all the latest technological developments worldwide have to be brought to bear on its mission of enhancing telecom and Internet in India. While systems developed abroad for a different market may have only limited application in India, the technologies incorporated in them, with appropriate re-design, give rise to systems that are more affordable and better suited to our requirements. It is therefore imperative for the TeNeT group to be at the forefront of research in wireless and optical technologies, system design and ASIC development, communication protocols, audio, video and image processing, and international standardisation efforts.

Dr. Jhunjhunwala has encouraged the faculty of the TeNeT group, along with the research scholars they guide, to be active in the all the areas mentioned above. Many of the research scholars also work part-time on product development. There is thus much two-way flow between these two important streams of activity in the TeNeT group. TeNeT faculty and their students routinely publish in international journals, present their work in conferences, and give tutorials on the latest technological developments. A number of leading companies have sought to establish laboratories at IITM to work with the TeNeT group. Among these are Intel, HP, TI, and Cisco. A Centre for Intelligent Optical Networks, (CION) set up with support from Sycamore Networks and its founder and IITM alumnus Dr. Deshpande, is fast coming up. MIT Media Lab works closely with the TeNeT group today, and plans to set up a Media Lab Asia Centre at Chennai with affiliation to the TeNeT Group.

Recently, TeNeT faculties have teamed up with their colleagues from other institutions and from industry to form a forum for developing the next-generation wireless technology in India. The aim is to move forward from merely following international standards, to driving them and creating Indian-owned essential IPR. This is the logical next step in the evolution of IT technology development in India.

The dream of Dr. Jhunjhunwala and TeNeT group is to not only see a couple of hundred million telephone and Internet connections in India, but also to make India a technology leader in research, product development, and services in the IT field. The group believes that with its focussed approach built on teamwork, and by uniting with the efforts all those who are striving towards this goal, this dream will soon become a reality.