India 6G vision gets global play with acceptance by ITU Study Group

India's vision to have ubiquitous coverage under 6G technology has been accepted by UN body ITU's Study Group in its meeting held at Geneva-- a move that is expected to reduce the cost of deployment of the next generation technology.

ITU is responsible for developing international mobile telecommunication standards.

"In the current meeting, despite resistance and attempts to reverse our progress by few member states, the Department of Telecommunications was able to successfully include 'Ubiquitous Connectivity' and ratify the framework document," an official statement said on Wednesday.

The proposal was accepted by ITU Study group (SG-5) meeting in Geneva held on September 25-26, 2023.

IMT 2030, also known as 6G, is being developed by Working Party 5D of ITU-R Study Group 5.

India in its 6G vision document, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has proposed 6G technology implementation should be affordable, sustainable and ubiquitous.

In the previous meeting of Study group Indian delegation succeeded in the inclusion of 6G ubiquitous connectivity into the IMT2030 framework as a usage scenario, enabling high-speed broadband internet for all, including both urban and rural populations for mitigating the digital divide and creating equal opportunities for all through mobile technologies.

ITU, Expert Group on NGN, member, Satya N Gupta said with this acceptance India's 6G vision has got global play.

"The finalised proposals decide on the way technology will evolve. The acceptance of India's 6G proposal has brought the country's vision to a global level and it gives opportunity to the country to participate in forming 6G standards," Gupta said.

This is the first time India has had such a significant impact on influencing the ITU.

"This positions India exceptionally well to drive the definition of 6G standards. It is essential for us to develop a robust 6G strategy that guarantees the incorporation of 10 per cent of India's intellectual property rights (IPR) into the 6G framework," the states said.

India has already secured more than 200 patents on 6G technology through Industry and academia collaboration with support of the Department of Telecom.

"India taking a pole position in these discussions is not just beneficial for India, but also gives the Global South a voice in setting agenda and standards for this new technology which has potential to disrupt the digital ecosystem," the statement said.