India Fastest To Rollout 5G, Preparing For 6G Too: PM Modi

Even as telecom operators roll out 5G services in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (August 15) said that India has also set its eyes on the upcoming 6G technology.

Addressing the nation on the 77th Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort, PM Modi lauded the rollout of 5G services in the country, adding that the country was preparing for 6G as well. 

“We rolled out 5G. My country is the fastest in the world to roll out 5G. We have reached more than 700 districts. And now we are already preparing for 6G,” the PM said. 

He also noted that a dedicated 6G task force has already been constituted to drive the ambitious goal of leading the upcoming sixth generation of high-speed internet network. 

Hinting at the homegrown startup ecosystem, he said that youngsters from major cities, as well as Tier II and Tier III cities, were developing apps, building solutions and designing technological devices. PM Modi also noted that homegrown startups would play a new key role in the upcoming ‘technology-influenced’ era. 

“Today my youth have propelled India to a certain position in the world’s first three startup economy systems. The youth of the world are amazed to see this power of India. Today the world is technology driven and the coming era is going to be influenced by technology. This gives a platform to showcase the prowess of India’s talent in technology who is going to play a new key role,” the PM said in his speech. 

Among other things, he also lauded the state-backed Digital India initiative, saying that many developed countries had expressed interest in the programme during his visit to Bali during the G20 summit. 

PM Modi also said that the government was mulling a scheme to impart technological training to women-led self-help groups (SHGs) to strengthen the agriculture sector. In his speech, PM Modi said that 15,000 such self-help groups would be trained, at the outset, in the operation and repair of drones to strengthen the agritech space. 

The 6G Push

6G is the next gradual progression in the world of telecom networks and will supersede the current 5G technology. While it is still under work, 6G technology aims to offer 100X faster internet speeds compared to 5G networks, which already clock speeds of 10 gigabits per second (Gbps). 

Not just this, the 6G technology could also work both on land as well as skies, offering what has previously not been achieved with 5G. As countries globally sit together to formulate standards for the upcoming technology, India has also upped the ante in this regard. 

In March this year, PM Modi launched the country’s first 6G test bed to validate new 6G-related technologies. Back then, he also released the ‘Bharat 6G Mission’ document that has been envisaged with the idea of designing, developing and deploying 6G network technologies that are affordable and sustainable.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has also constituted a task force called ‘Bharat 6G Alliance’, which found mention in PM’s Independence Day speech.