How Bharat’s 6G Vision Could Boost India’s Digital Economy

The fast adoption of mobile and fixed broadband services in India over the past ten years has drastically changed people’s lives and means of subsistence, especially for marginalized communities. To ensure that its scattered rural population clusters are well-served, the nation has also made significant contributions to international communication standards. The global telecom industry is already working to develop 6G as the next great thing on the horizon of communication as India begins its own special 5G adventure. Even though it is only a concept, 6G is already creating a stir with its promise of unified human-machine and machine-machine interaction and provides a preview of what the world can expect as the next decade approaches. 6G will build upon 5G technology and provide more reliable, ultra-low latency, and affordable solutions with speeds almost 100 times faster than 5G to enhance and drive new communication applications.

Benefits & Challenges of 6G Implementation

To realize the vision of 6G, India must focus its research in the coming decade on technologies that will bolster and propel the implementation of 6G in India in a highly customized manner. 6G’s hyper-connectivity and advanced user experience will improve and enable access to necessary information, resources (both virtual and physical), and social services without regard for time or location. A solution to rural exodus, mass urbanization, and their associated issues will be made possible by the introduction of 6G, which will significantly reduce differences in regional and social infrastructure and the accessibility of economic opportunities.

India will face numerous challenges in order to achieve the 6G goal. The first challenge will be to align its research with future technologies that will emerge over the next decade. India must identify and prioritize technologies that will support and drive the country’s highly customized implementation of 6G. This means that India will have to work tirelessly to keep up with technological advancements and stay ahead of the curve in R&D.

Providing the population with hyper-connectivity and cutting-edge user experiences will be another problem. The availability of information, resources, and social services for Indians will be unrestricted by time or place thanks to 6G. Building a strong telecom infrastructure that can accommodate the 6G needs for speed and latency is necessary to do this, though. It will also be necessary to make 6G accessible and inexpensive for everyone, even those living in rural areas.

Another challenge that India will face is ensuring the security and privacy of data transmitted over the 6G network. With the increase in connected devices and data being transmitted over the network, the risk of cyberattacks and data breaches also

increases. Therefore, India must develop a robust cybersecurity framework to protect against these threats.

Task Force

According to the Bharat 6G vision document released by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, The Technology Innovations Group set up six task forces in India to explore the major pillars of the 6G vision. Based on their deliberations on the complete 6G ecosystem, they have recommended extensive research in mmWave and Terahertz communications, fiber-broadband, Tactile Internet and Remote Operations, multi- sensor man-machine interfaces, and devices leveraging edge cloud computing resources. Well-placed headways into AI, Space-Terrestrial Integration, combined communication and sensing in (Sub) Terahertz bands, SoCs, and innovative solutions emanating from CoEs can further be accentuated by participation in and contribution to global standards forums and leveraging start-ups of today.

The 6G Mission and R&D

With a reliable and essential Research & Development (R&D) funding source, all of this and more may be accomplished. India will take the lead in identifying research priorities by collaborating with all relevant parties, including businesses, academia, and service providers. This will include conducting theoretical and simulation studies, proof-of-concept prototypes and demonstrations, and early market interventions through start-ups. India will launch a 6G Mission that holistically integrates all related technologies, supported by an adequate financial backup, in order to achieve the end- state of smart traffic management, virtual reality (VR)/virtual navigation, smart and highly accurate environmental monitoring, and other fantastical promises of 6G.

India must make investments in a strong research and development (R&D) funding framework if it is to realize the lofty goals of 6G. In order to determine research priorities, it will be necessary for all stakeholders to get involved, including representatives from businesses, academia, and service providers. This can be accomplished by carrying out theoretical and simulation studies, creating proof-of- concept prototypes and demonstrations, and launching start-ups to make early market interventions. India will be able to take the lead in creating 6G technology that is highly specialized to meet its unique requirements.

Further, India will need to establish a 6G Mission that integrates all related technologies and is adequately backed financially in addition to sponsoring research and development. In order to realize the end-state of intelligent traffic management, virtual reality (VR)/virtual navigation, intelligent and extremely accurate environmental monitoring, and other spectacular promises of 6G, it will be imperative to complete this mission.

Phases of Bharat’s 6G Mission

In accordance with the vision document, the mission can be divided into 2 phases –

1. Ideation
2. Conceptualization and delivery

In the ideation phase, the focus will be on understanding the inherent potential and risk associated with the pathways ahead and testing proof-of-concept implementations. This will help to gain a better understanding of the technological challenges it may face and how best to overcome them.

The conceptualizing and delivering potential technology solutions to serve India and the global community. This phase will require a focused effort by all stakeholders to develop new and innovative solutions that can be applied to various sectors of the economy, including healthcare, agriculture, and transportation.

India’s capacity to capitalize on its advantages in research and development, engineering, and innovation will be key to the 6G Mission’s success. India has the potential to emerge as a major global supplier of cutting-edge, practical, and cost- effective telecom systems and solutions. It will not only help its own economy by doing this but also help the world become more interconnected and affluent.

Conclusion

India has the resources required to spearhead the 6G wave globally and take advantage of this potent force multiplier to establish itself as a top global supplier of cutting-edge, practical, and reasonably priced telecom equipment and solutions. Next-generation multi-platform networks like dense optical networks, AI/ML on the air interface and for network optimization, tactile Internet, intelligent network operation, intelligent reflective surfaces, efficient low-earth orbit satellites, high- altitude platform systems (HAPS), user-defined virtualized air interfaces, and the integration of 6G with cutting-edge technologies like blockchain, quantum computing, and edge computing must be the country’s main areas of focus. However, considerable expenditures in R&D and infrastructure are needed to develop 6G technology. These investments can be made by fostering public-private partnerships and industry-academia collaborations.

India is well-positioned to take the lead in this transition, which the 6G technology has the ability to bring about in terms of how we live, work, and engage with one another. To create a strong ecosystem for innovation and development, the public and commercial sectors must collaborate to design a thorough roadmap for the deployment of 6G technology. India can realise its objective of digital transformation and inclusive growth and establish itself as a major player in the global 6G market with the proper strategy.

Divyaish Srivastava
Lawyer & Policy Professional