The Institute organised the IEEE International Conference on Advanced Networks and Telecommunications Systems (IEEE ANTS) 2021 from December 13-16, 2021, on the theme of “Ubiquitous Digital Connectivity and Economic Prosperity for All”. The distinguishing characteristic of IEEE ANTS is the promotion of an intense dialogue between academia and industry to bridge the gap between academic research and industry initiatives.

Prof. D Janakiram, Director, IDRBT, inaugurated the IEEE ANTS 2021 on December 14, 2021. Speaking on the occasion, he focussed attention on the following:

• The Banking and Financial Sector needs to be prepared for the technology headwinds, especially in the areas of 5G Beyond Networks, Distributed Ledger Technologies, Hybrid Clouds and Edge Clouds, Post Quantum Computing Era, AI/ML Technologies, Cyber Security and Data Privacy.
• The lines between technology companies and banking and financial services companies are getting blurred. It’s now no more about Fintechs but about Techfins as well.
• The research centres in the Institute are being realigned in reflect the evolving technology trends and the changing needs of the Banking and Financial Sector. The Institute is also working with the premier IITs in areas directly relevant to the Banking and Financial Sector.
• The Institute is working on major research projects in niche areas such as 5G Use Cases, Unified Blockchain Framework, and Video KYC over Blockchain.

Dr. Sudhir Dixit, Senior Fellow, IEEE, and Steering Committee Chair, IEEE ANTS 2021; Dr. Neminath Hubballi, Technical Program Committee Chair, and Dr. V. Radha, General Chair, IEEE ANTS joined Prof. Janakiram during the inaugural function. Dr. Sudhir Dixit highlighted the rich history of IEEE ANTS and how it has been tapping the latest in key areas like Wireless Technologies, Application Centric Networking, Quantum Computing, Security and Privacy issues to bridge the digital divide. Dr. Neminath Hubballi highlighted the growth of IEEE ANTS from a small symposium to today’s major platform attracting participants all over the world.

The conference featured a series of high-quality keynote talks, including by:

• Shri Ravindra Pandey, Deputy Managing Director & Chief Information Officer, State Bank of India on “Leveraging Technology”
• Shri Ishraq Ali Khan, Executive Director, UCO Bank on “Banking Technology in Present Era”
• Ms. Pamela Kumar, Director General, Telecom Standards Development Society of India on “Standards Driven Research – The Catalyst for Achieving Economic Prosperity for All through Ubiquitous Connectivity”
• Prof. Rajat Moona, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Bhilai on “End-to-end Security”
• Dr. B K Murthy, Chief Executive Officer, IIT Bhilai Innovation and Technology Foundation on “Blockchain Technology – Towards Providing Trust & Transparency in Telecom Services”
• Shri Amit Mannan, Head – Networks R&D, Samsung R&D Institute on “Towards a Hyper Connected Future”
• Prof. Uday Desai, Emeritus Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad on “5G and Next Gen Innovation”

The conference also featured the following two panel discussions and nine workshops:

Panel Discussions

• How can Blockchain Technology help achieve Ubiquitous Digital Connectivity and Economic Prosperity for All
• Ubiquitous Digital Connectivity and Economic Prosperity for All – The Path to Financial Inclusion

Workshops

• The Second International Workshop on, Fog Networks: The Next Generation Cellular Communication Systems
• Open RAN for 5G and beyond
• THz Communications: Opportunities and Challenges for 6G
• Computational Intelligence in Digital Data Processing and Evidence Analysis
• Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) and Emerging Applications
• AI/Machine Learning Enabled Connected Vehicles
• Sixth International Workshop on 5G and Future Wireless Technology (5GFWT 2021)
• Routing Security in RPL-based Internet of Things Environment
• Connecting the Unconnected – Standards Driven Research for Financial Inclusion

This three-day conference was preceded by tutorials on December 13, 2021. The details of the five tutorials are as under:

• Towards Global Connectivity Using Aerial and Space Networks
• 5G and Edge – Enabling Intelligent Systems and Enhanced User Experience
• Optical Wireless Communications: Fundamentals and Potential Applications with a vision for 5G and Beyond
• Delay Tolerant Network and its usage in Emergency Situation
• Artificial Intelligence and its Applications in Beyond 5G Networks

67 research papers were presented in the main technical programme in the areas of Communication Systems, 5G Networks, Wireless Networks, Security, Cryptography, Cellular Networks, Internet of Things, Heterogeneous Networks, Spectrum and Channels in Cellular Networks, Simulation and Modelling, and Applications and Systems Configurations by leading researchers from across the globe including Purdue University, USA; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA; Paderborn University, Germany; Hasso Plattner Institute, Germany; Nihon University, Japan; South Ural State University, Malaysia; University of Mauritius, Mauritius; University College Dublin, Ireland; University of Oulu, Finland; University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka; Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary; T-Systems Hungary, Hungary; Marposs S.p.A., Italy; University of Agder, Norway, etc. The acceptance rate of the conference was 35%.

Further, 14 papers were presented in the Women in Engineering Track, eight papers in workshops and two papers in Emerging Research Forum.