Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala wins V&D Lifetime Achievement award at TLF 2022.

At the 21st Voice&Data Telecom Leadership Forum held on March 22, 2022 , the V&D Lifetime Achievement award was given to Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala. A 10-member eminent Jury, consisting of industry leaders and influencers met on January 27, 2022 to deliberate on the nominees and chose Dr. Jhunjhunwala for the V&D Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was given to Dr. Jhunjhunwala based on the body of his life's work.

Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala is a pioneer. For the last 45 years, he has been a force multiplier for technology R&D in India, creating solutions for Bharat and transferring them to other developing countries – ideally suited for local conditions.

Dr. Jhunjhunwala, is most widely known for his inspirational work in the development of corDECT a wireless in local loop (WLL) technology together with a private partner, Midas Communication Technologies.

corDECT solved one of the biggest problems in the 1990s – that of bringing VOICE & DATA connectivity to remote and rural areas on wireless networks.

It was not only one of the lowest cost wireless systems in the late ‘90s, its exchange and Base Station could work at 55 degrees centigrade, required less than 10% of power (compared to other systems at that time), and provided seamless integration of both voice and Internet.

CorDECT technology has now been deployed in Argentina, Brazil, Tunisia, Madagascar, Kenya, Angola, Nigeria, Yemen, Fiji, and Iran.

Dr. JhunJhunwala completed his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and later his PHD from University of Maine in US. He then joined IIT Madras in 1981 as a faculty and later went on to head the Department of Electrical Engineering.

It is at IITM that he really started some of his path-breaking research work. He was one of the very first movers to bring industry and academia together to create practical solutions.

After corDECT, he helped start Banyan Networks, which focused on providing data on digital subscriber line (DSL) over copper wires and suited for the uneven quality of coper in Indian networks at that time.

He helped set up another company called Tejas, which is today part of the Tata Group. Tejas developed software-based converged networking solutions for Telecom Operators – it developed hardware that aggregated and distributed bandwidth for Internet users and helped build Intelligent networks in the early and mid-2000s.

Tejas has been ahead of the curve in Indian Telecom technology and has built a strategic presence in over 100 countries.

The Telecommunications and Computer Networks Group (TeNet) at IITMadras was also set up by Dr. Jhunjhunwala.

TeNET has developed a range of products well suited for Indian conditions. Among them:

• A low-cost ATM
• A remote medical Diagnostic Kit
• A low Bit Rate Video Conferencing Software
• A multi-language Office Suite
• And many others

The Center for Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT), a public-private platform, was also the brainchild of Dr. Jhunjhunwala. Its objective is of making India one of the leaders in wireless technology globally and to ensure that international standards bodies incorporate Indian requirements and solutions.

Dr. Jhunjhunwala is Chairman of the Rural Technology and Business Incubator (RTBI) at IITM. A technology incubator focusing on innovative initiatives for the rural segment.

He is the holder of numerous patents in the field of wireless and broadband communications.

He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Prime Minister (SAC-PM) in 2005.

Dr. Jhunjhunwala was conferred the Padma Shri Award in 2002.

For these humongous and unparalleled efforts in helping bring Indian R&D to international levels.

For playing a key role in enabling the telecommunications revolution of the late 90’s in India and for inspiring generations of new entrepreneurs leading mentoring over 100 startups in the tech sector.

Voice & Data is truly honored to recognize the work of Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala and award him this Lifetime Achievement Award -- on behalf of CyberMedia and the entire Telecommunications Sector in India.