India may be a part of global 6G standards development process: Report

DoT Secretary K Rajaraman said that the government expects the scale and scope of 6G technology to be finalised worldwide by 2023-24

Indian may soon become a part of the global 6G standards development process. The Centre hopes that the recently launched research & development fund will provide appropriate support to early-age startups, a report in the Economic Times (ET) said. 

The Centre launched the Telecom Technology Development Fund scheme earlier in 2022 to support startups involved in the design, development and commercialisation of applications based on 5G and 6G. To get funding under the programme, the startups will have to submit their proposals to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) latest by December 31. This deadline was November 15 earlier. 

DoT Secretary K Rajaraman was quoted by ET as saying that the government expects the scale and scope of 6G technology to be finalised worldwide by 2023-24. 

At the India Mobile Congress on October 2, telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that much of the technology required for the development of 6G is available with Indian developers and the country will lead in the next-generation technology space.

He said that prime minister wants India to take the lead in 6G.

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

According to the 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 in India, 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 supercell. There will be multiple radios on a single cell which will enhance spectral efficiency as well as network speed," Kuchi said.

(With agency inputs)