According to a top official, India is aiming to participate in the global development of the sixth generation, or 6G, of standards and anticipates that the recently unveiled research and development (R&D) fund scheme to support early-stage start-ups will eventually make it possible to carry out the ambitious plan.
Some early-stage start-ups would receive support from the R&D funding programme, which would help the project grow. Early 6G development efforts are already underway in China, Korea, and the US.
The department developed Telecom Technology early this year.
Development Fund (TTDF) programme to assist local businesses and start-ups engaged in design, development, and commercialization based on the 5G, 6G, and other access technologies of the next generation.
To encourage greater participation, the grant program’s application submission date has been moved from November 15 to December 31, 2022.
Rajaraman added that the department plans to examine potential in the area for developing new standards and anticipates that the scope and scale of 6G will be decided by 2023–2024 globally.
In a separate effort, the government is aiming to release spectrum in the 95 GHz–3 THz frequency band for experimental 6G use.
India is anticipated to actively participate in worldwide research with a pre-standardization process and be able to create 6G-driven apps and products with the prompt authorization of the necessary spectrum.
The telecom sector put up a strong fight against India’s 5Gi, a local 5G standard also known as Radio Interface Technology or RIT due to worries over ecosystem unavailability and interoperability.
The telecom department established the Technology Innovation Group (TIG) in November of last year to establish a vision and goals, create a roadmap for research and development (R&D), and create action plans for the sixth-generation (6G) technology.
India should make an effort to lead in the 6G industry. Government, business, telecom service providers, academic institutions, and research organisations will need to work together to identify the area of work and develop a synergy to innovate, create Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), standardise, and contribute to global standards, create regulations, conduct pilot projects, manufacture, test, and install the devices.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) received a 6G vision document from the nation’s standards organisation, Telecommunications Standards Development Society India (TSDSI), last year (ITU). It also established a 6G working group.