6G, Setting the future before it gets set

India is pushing the envelope on 6G telecom networks in order to have a louder voice in setting standards. It’s also dialling up so as to find a high seat at the table of suppliers of gear and solutions. This is part of the country’s efforts to change its role from being a mere user of technology, as it was till 4G, to creating protocols based on domestic use cases that it found hard to integrate into evolving 5G standards. The government is ramping up research into 6G applications to compensate for limited intervention over 5G. The Centre aims to have a 6G stack ready by the time the technology rolls out around 2030. This time, it is moving before 6G standards are finalised – being part of the kitchen before the cake is set – and is raising its profile in future exercises by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to set rules. It is also widening the scope of domestic innovation by offering it cheap in the neighbourhood. This is smart thinking and acting.

All this is, of course, peering into technology deep space. Rollouts of 5G networks have been patchy, despite the promise of enterprise applications like the Internet of Things (IoT). The stepped-up data consumption from 4G networks is yet to materialise, which is likely to get a boost as 5G-Advanced standards are introduced. 6G is expected to build on that with a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and sentient networks that could fuse the digital and physical worlds. Use cases include networks as small as 100 metres for cars that allow hundreds of sensors to communicate among themselves at sub-millisecond latency. 6G networks will be more energy-efficient, with architecture optimised for performance to increase spectrum productivity and provide security against cyberthreats.

India has made rapid strides in 4G data consumption and is making up for lost time with one of the world’s fastest 5G rollouts coinciding with new protocols that should encourage adoption. It needs to be ready to catch the next technology wave. One is 6G and counting.