India gears up for 6G, DoT forms innovation group for 6G technology

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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has formed a technology innovation group on the next frontier, the sixth generation (6G), which is expected to be a leader in the development of technology globally.

Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman will lead the initiative as the chairman and the forum aims to outline the vision and objectives as well as develop a roadmap for research and development (R&D), pre-standardisation, development of applications and products and action plans for 6G technology.

“India should strive to become a leader in the 6G space. This will require a collaborative effort of the government, industry and telecom service providers, academia and research institutions to identify areas of action and innovate, create Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), standardisation, contribution to global standards, create regulations, run pilots and manufacture, testing and supplying globally,” the department’s November 1, 2021 memorandum said.

This move comes with India lagging behind developed countries in the auction and deployment of 5G technology. The government is expected to auction airwaves next year to support 5G technology.

The government is eyeing the higher participation of India in futuristic technological advancements across the globe and essentially enhancing the country’s contribution to the global value chain.

Chinese Huawei and Korean Samsung and LG have already started work on 6G technology, which is likely to be much faster than 5G, leading to massive social change.

“India’s participation and success in 6G may require huge investments in research and development (R&D) activities, and leverage its strengths such as a large market availability and growing economic power,” Bharat Bhatia, president, ITU-APT Foundation of India (IAFI) said.

Recently, IAFI has submitted its 6G vision document to International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations body, that has already formulated its strategy towards tectonic technological change.