6G By 2030: PM Modi Unveils Next-Gen Network Roadmap. Here's What It Means

According to the vision document released by the Department of Telecom, 6G will offer ultra-low latency with speeds up to 1 terabit per second.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday unveiled India's 6G vision document and launched the 6G R&D Test Bed, saying that the initiative shows the confidence of India. He said that from being a mere consumer of telecom technology India is moving fast to become a big exporter of telecom technology. "Within six months of the 5G rollout, today we are talking about 6G. This shows the confidence of India. Today we have brought the vision document to the fore. This will become a big base for the rollout of 6G," Modi said. As per the roadmap, India could see deployment of 6G services by 2030.

According to the vision document released by the Department of Telecom, while 5G technology promises a speed of 40-1,100 Mbps with the potential to hit a maximum speed of 10,000 Mbps, 6G will offer ultra-low latency with speeds up to 1 terabit per second — which is 100 times more than the top speed of 5G.

At the same event in Delhi, the prime minister also inaugurated the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area Office and Innovation Centre, which has been set up in the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) campus. He said the ITU office in India will help create the right environment for 6G in the country.

"Before 4G, India was only a user of telecom technology, but now India is moving fast to become a big exporter of telecom technology," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that it is natural to have expectations from India in the context of bridging the global divide. India’s capabilities, innovation culture, infrastructure, skilled and innovative manpower, and its favourable policy environment are the basis of these expectations.

“India has two key strengths - trust and scale. We can not take technology to all corners without trust and scale. The entire world is talking about India’s efforts in this direction. Without trust and scale, we cannot take technology to every nook and corner. I will say that trust is a prefix to present-day technology. With 100 crore mobile phones, India is the most connected democracy in the world. Cheap smartphones and cheap data have transmogrified India," PM Modi said.

“Telecom technology for India is not a mode of power, but a mission to empower”, the Prime Minister said. Prime Minister mentioned that broadband connectivity had 60 million users in India before 2014 but that number has gone up to more than 800 million today.

“2 lakh gram panchayats have been connected by optical fiber and 5 lakh common service centers are giving digital services leading to a situation where the digital economy is expanding two and half times faster than the rest of the economy”, PM further added. 

“Today's India is rapidly moving towards the next step of the digital revolution”, the Prime Minister remarked as he underlined that India

The Prime Minister said,“These 100 new labs will help in developing 5G applications according to India's unique needs. Be it 5G smart classrooms, farming, intelligent transport systems or healthcare applications, India is working fast in every direction”, 

What Is Bharat 6G Vision Document 

Bharat 6G vision document is prepared by the 22-member innovation group led by Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman Technology Innovation Group on 6G (TIG-6G) constituted in November 2021. Its members came from various Ministries/Departments, research and development institutions, academia, standardization bodies, Telecom Service Providers, and industry to develop a roadmap and action plans for 6G in India.

6G Test Bed will provide academic institutions, industries, start-ups, MSMEs, and others with a platform to test and validate evolving ICT technologies. The Bharat 6G Vision Document and 6G Test Bed will provide an enabling environment for innovation, capacity building, and faster technology adoption in the country.

The initiative is part of India’s efforts to attain a forward step in the global supply chain for emerging technology, such as satellite and terrestrial communication gear and components. Given how 6G is expected to serve as a convergence platform for satcom and terrestrial networks, the Telecom department has said that India is aiming to take part in global discussions currently working on setting 6G standards and pursuing technological innovations.

The new 6G testbed is being co-developed by a consortium of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), including Guwahati and Madras.

The project will provide an R&D platform to start-ups, researchers, industry, and other broadband wireless applications in India like e-Governance, smart cities, rural Broadband, or other Digital India initiatives under Atmanirbhar Bharat, according to the government statement.