India’s Own 6G: Challenges And The Road Ahead

NEW DELHI: Here’s a thought: 5G may well be the last communication revolution to be embraced by the whole world. The next phase in this revolution, 6G, may not have the same success given current geopolitics over Ukraine that has seen the world harden into what some describe as Cold War 2.0. The result could be a West-driven 6G and another by China, each with different standards, networks and operating protocols. It is speculated that Russia, North Korea possibly even Iran could be part of the China network. Most other countries can be expected to go with the West-led 6G system given familiarity with their ecosystem that includes companies like Nokia and Ericsson. What about India? Prime Minister Modi unveiled a 6G Vision Document recently with a task force in place comprising technology experts, industry professionals, academia and government. Government will fund R&D until such time as industry is able to take over, says Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, former Director of IIT Madras, who is involved with the 6G programme....Read More