Many tech patents for 6G available with Indian developers: Vaishnaw

A day after PM Modi launched 5G services, Vaishnaw said that many of the technology required for development of 6G are available with Indian developers

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services, telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that many of the technology required for development of 6G are available with Indian developers and the country will lead in the next generation technology space.

The minister visited the IIT Hyderabad booth at the India Mobile Congress here. The institute is showcasing 6G technology prototypes and claims to have achieved 2-3 times more spectral efficiency and in turn the network speed compared to 5G.

"Now we have to take the lead in the development and deployment of 6G. IIT Hyderabad, standards and the technologies that have been developed for taking the telecom world from 5G to 6G... many of those technology developments have already happened. patents are available with the Indian developer community," Vaishnaw said.

He said that the prime minister has said in 6G India should take the lead.

"We have to be leaders in 6G. That is the goal for which we will work and achieve," Vaishnaw said.

According to the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), 5G technology is expected to deliver ten times better download speed than that of 4G and up to three times greater spectrum efficiency.

IIT Hyderabad professor Kiran Kuchi, who is heading the 6G development project, said that the institute has been granted some of the patents that will help create 6G standards and the process is on to apply for new patents as the technology advances.

"A normal cell site (mobile station) is divided into 3 sectors or zones. In 6G we are seeing there will be a single large cell with no sectors. It will be connected to a super cell. There will be multiple radios on a single cell which will enhance spectral efficiency as well as network speed," Kuchi said.

He said that it takes 10 years for a technology to mature and IIT Hyderabad has already started patenting technologies that are expected to play an important role in forming standards for 6G.

IIT Hyderabad was among the institutes that created the Indian 5G technology standard, 5Gi.

Kuchi said that some versions of the 5Gi are already part of new mobile phones and the final version of 5Gi will be available soon.