As India is gradually shifting towards a 5G network, India’s Department of Telecommunication (DOT) has started planning for its successor with a 6G vision document. It is an early step in funding and research of 6G technology deployment in India by 2030 to provide a high-quality living experience to India’s population through ubiquitous intelligence in a fast and secure connectivity network.
Keeping a eye on the target of becoming a leading exporter in telecom technology India is planning to design and develop 6G communication services with a speed of around 100 times faster than 5G by 2030. Under the vision document, the two-phase plan has been unveiled. In the first phase standards will be developed for 6G technologies to give support for explorative ideas, risky pathways, and proof of concept tests while the second phase will help to create test beds and to figure out funding for research and development of these innovative ideas.
The inauguration of the New International Telecommunication Union Area Office & Innovation Center in India will also play a big role in realizing this ambitious target. Collaboration with the UN’s specialized agency in Information and communication technologies will bring mutual benefit to regional economies. The launch of the 6G R&D test bed along with the ‘Call before u Dig’ app is going to prioritize the coordinated efforts of stakeholders, especially excavation agencies and digging utilities while progressing further.
6G network rollout is based on sustainability, affordability, and ubiquity. It will offer a platform to test and validate the evolving ICT technologies for academic institutions, industries, start-ups, and MSMEs. 6G networks will be able to use higher frequencies in comparison to 5G and provide low latency, extreme coverage and high reliability, low energy, and cost. It will focus on radio interfaces, terahertz communication, and artificial intelligence which includes the applications such as remote-controlled factories, communicating self-driven cars, etc.
The innovation ecosystem needs to bring changes in antenna design, edge clouds, and distributed AI models to effectively deploy the 6G network in India. A long-term vision, multi-decade plan, strong investment, and international collaborations, with early policy intervention will bring the 6G vision into reality at the end of this decade to enable transformative upgrades in the time-sensitive application areas across India.