Why In News?

India joined a US-led 25-nation coalition endorsing the Joint Statement on Principles for 6G to advance secure, open, and trusted sixth-generation wireless networks.

What is 6G?

Next-Generation Telecommunications: 6G is the successor to 5G cellular technology, designed to integrate terrestrial wireless communications with satellite constellations, artificial intelligence, and physical sensing.

Spectrum Utilization: Operates across high-frequency Sub-Terahertz and Terahertz (THz) bands (100 GHz to 3 THz) and optical bands (Visible Light Communication - VLC), unlocking vast unallocated bandwidth.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

  • Peak Data Rates: Delivers speeds up to 1 Terabit per second (1 Tbps)—nearly 100 times faster than 5G.

  • Ultra-Low Latency: Achieves sub-millisecond latency (under 0.1 milliseconds / 100 microseconds), virtually eliminating transmission lag.

  • Connection Density: Capable of connecting up to 10 million devices per square kilometer, underpinning the massive Internet of Everything (IoE).

Technological Architecture:

  • Native Artificial Intelligence: Integrates machine learning directly into the radio access network (RAN) and air interface for automated self-optimization.

  • Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC): Uses wireless signals not just for data transmission, but as high-resolution environmental radar to detect physical objects, gestures, and weather.

  • Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN): Integrates low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite mega-constellations with ground base stations for universal global coverage.

What is the Global 6G Initiative?

The Global 6G Initiative (officially launched as the "Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security") is an alliance of 26 like-minded nations—including the United States, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, and Finland.  

Guiding Principles: Promotes policies that ensure next-generation telecommunications networks are:

  • Open & Disaggregated: Built on vendor-neutral Open-RAN architectures to prevent single-supplier lock-ins.

  • Secure & Trusted: Prioritizing verified supply chains and excluding equipment from high-risk, untrusted foreign vendors.

  • Democratic Governance: Safeguarding citizen privacy, intellectual property rights, and competitive market access in global standard-setting bodies like the ITU and 3GPP.

Strategic Significance of 6G Technology For India

Accelerating the $1 Trillion Digital Economy: Powers high-value digital industries, including Industry 5.0 smart factories, precision robotic farming, and real-time algorithmic logistics.

Critical National Infrastructure & Defence: High-bandwidth, low-latency communication secures military drone swarms, tactical border sensor grids, and encrypted satellite communications.

Tele-Health and Advanced Education: Enables real-time holographic telepresence, multi-sensory virtual reality classrooms, and remote telesurgery performed by urban surgeons in rural district hospitals.

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) 2.0: Scales up the India Stack—processing hundreds of millions of instant micro-transactions, automated biometric verifications, and smart-city sensor operations simultaneously.

What are India’s Domestic 6G Initiatives?

Bharat 6G Vision Document: Unveiled by the Prime Minister in 2023, setting a national roadmap based on three pillars: Affordability, Inclusivity, and Sustainability.

Two-Phased Implementation Roadmap:

  • Phase 1 (2023–2025): Exploratory phase focusing on basic research, pilot testbeds, and intellectual property generation.

  • Phase 2 (2025–2030): Commercialization, standards adoption, global supply-chain integration, and nationwide commercial rollout.

The Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA): An apex collaborative platform established by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that expanded to over 90 members by July 2026, spanning industry leaders, startups, and premier academic institutions (IITs, IISc). It operates seven specialized working groups:

  1. Technology Development

  2. Spectrum Strategy

  3. Applications and Use Cases

  4. Devices and Equipment

  5. Semiconductor Components

  6. Green and Sustainable Telecom

  7. International Standards and Intellectual Property. (Source: Press Information Bureau)

What are the Major Challenges in India's 6G Development?

Semiconductor Dependency on Foreign Foundry Nodes: Terahertz radio frequency front-end (RFFE) transceivers require ultra-dense sub-3nm chipsets and Gallium Nitride (GaN) compound semiconductors currently absent from domestic fabs under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM).

R&D Funding Disparities Compared to Global Powers: Developing 6G technologies requires billions of dollars in fundamental material science, high-frequency channel sounding, and quantum-safe algorithms that exceed current allocations under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF).

Atmospheric Attenuation and High Path Loss in Terahertz Spectrum Bands: Radio signals in the sub-THz spectrum (100 GHz–1 THz) suffer severe atmospheric moisture absorption and attenuation, limiting transmission ranges to less than 150 meters without line-of-sight.

Geopolitical Fragmentation and Standards Polarization: Global standard-setting bodies face growing polarization between Western-led alliances and Chinese state-backed telecoms at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and 3GPP.

Domestic Deficit in Standard Essential Patents (SEPs): Despite strong domestic software talent, Indian firms hold less than 2% of global telecom Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), resulting in significant cross-licensing royalty outflows to foreign patent holders.

Cybersecurity and AI-Driven Attack Surfaces: Native integration of autonomous Artificial Intelligence at the physical layer introduces systemic algorithmic vulnerabilities, model poisoning, and quantum decryption risks under the National Cyber Security Policy.

Way Forward

Domestic Terahertz Semiconductor Fabrication: Expand capital subsidies under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) to establish domestic compound semiconductor foundries specializing in Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Indium Phosphide (InP) radio front-ends.

  • Case Study: The US CHIPS and Science Act Advanced Packaging Initiative allocated $3 billion for commercializing radio-frequency chips for next-generation telecommunications.  

Aggressive Standard Essential Patent Filing: Provide fast-track patent examination and filing fee subsidies through the Office of the Controller General of Patents (CGPDTM) and TSDSI to ensure Indian entities secure at least 10% of global 6G SEPs by 2030.

  • Case Study: South Korea’s K-Network 2030 Plan instituted state funding for local universities and firms to patent early-stage terahertz core communications technologies, securing top global 6G patent rankings.  

Scaling Telecom R&D Disbursements: Increase annual capital disbursements under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) from the Digital Bharat Nidhi to fund 6G testbeds and terahertz research laboratories across premier IITs and IISc.

Commercializing Indigenous Open-RAN Stacks: Expand incentives under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Telecom to support domestic hardware manufacturers in mass-producing cloud-native Open-RAN 6G base stations.

Integrating Quantum-Safe Cryptography: Converge 6G network security architecture with the National Quantum Mission (NQM) to embed Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) across 6G optical backhaul networks.

Harmonizing Standards via Democratic Alliances: Leverage platforms like the Quad Critical and Emerging Technology Working Group and the India-US iCET to harmonize trusted 6G supply chains and joint interoperability testing.

Human Resource Development in Wireless Engineering: Launch specialized postgraduate degrees and faculty development programs in terahertz electromagnetics, photonics, and AI-native networking under the FutureSkills Prime platform.

Conclusion

India's entry into the Global 6G Initiative reflects its transition from a passive consumer of telecommunications technology to an active co-architect of secure, next-generation global wireless standards.

Source: ECONOMICTIMES

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. With reference to Sixth-Generation (6G) wireless technology and India's Bharat 6G Mission, consider the following statements:

1. 6G networks will operate primarily in the Sub-Terahertz and Terahertz frequency bands, offering peak data rates of up to 1 Tbps.

2. The Bharat 6G Vision Document outlines a two-phase implementation roadmap targeting a national commercial rollout by 2030.

3. 6G wireless architecture relies on traditional hardware-bound base stations and explicitly excludes satellite non-terrestrial networks (NTN).

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Sixth-generation (6G) wireless systems are designed to use the Sub-Terahertz and Terahertz (THz) frequency bands (ranging from 100 GHz to 3 THz or higher) to achieve extreme bandwidths and peak data rates approaching 1 Terabit per second (Tbps).  

Statement 2 is correct: India's Bharat 6G Vision Document outlines a structured, two-phase implementation roadmap—Phase 1 running from 2023 to 2025 (exploratory ideas and proof-of-concept) and Phase 2 from 2025 to 2030 (commercialization and deployment)—targeting a national rollout by 2030.

Statement 3 is incorrect: 6G architecture explicitly integrates non-terrestrial networks (NTN), including satellites, high-altitude platform systems (HAPS), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to achieve true three-dimensional and ubiquitous global coverage, rather than relying solely on legacy hardware-bound terrestrial base stations.