He revealed that scientists and engineers have already started working on 6G, with locally developed hardware and software. Once unleashed, the technology will be exported to another country too, he said. Further, he talked about the 5G rollout in India, which could be expected by the third quarter of 2022.
6G in India
At the fourth webinar conducted by The Financial Express and The Indian Express – New Technology and Green Economy: Two Trends Shaping a New India? – Indian communication minister Ashwini Vaishnaw talked about next-generation wireless technology in India – 6G. While the government is yet to roll out 5G across the nation, Vaishnaw said they’re preparing for the future technology already. In a statement, he said “6G development has already started. That will be seen somewhere in the time frame 2024 or 2023-end. That is the direction in which we are going. We will have designed in India telecom software for running the networks, manufactured in India telecom equipment, served in India telecom networks which can go global.”
While we wish his bold claims to be worked out, we’re still sticking to the ground reality of unknown 5G carriers. The government has extended the 5G trails by 6 months, to let telecoms test with more flexibility. Moreover, the government also waved off spectrum usage charges and introduced a four-year moratorium for adjusted gross revenue (AGR). This will let struggling companies like Airtel and Vodafone Idea save up cash payable to the government, and use them for building their 5G networks. As Vaishnaw said, the 5G spectrum auctions will go live by the second quarter of 2022, so we can experience the new-gen wireless speeds in the third quarter of next year.
