India will take lead in 6G: Telecom Minister Vaishnaw

NEW DELHI: A day after the launch of 5G mobile services in India, Telecommunication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said India will take a lead in 6G as it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's desire to take a global lead the sixth-generation wireless technology. Telecommunication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was also present during the launch of 5G yesterday, along with industrialists -- Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Sunil Bharti Mittal.

Commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said the roll-out of 5G in the country was a very big confidence booster to India's aspirations for growth and added that the enthusiasm surrounding the launch is truly empowering. Vaishnaw also emphasized that most important study groups for the future development of 5G and sixth-generation (6G) mobile system under the International Telecommunications Union are now being chaired by Indian delegates.

Chieftains of the telecom sector on Saturday showed solid unity behind the Prime Minister's vision of revolutionising the sector through 5G technology. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla joined PM Modi at the launch of 5G services. 6G is the sixth generation mobile system standard currently under development for wireless communications technologies supporting cellular data networks. It is the planned successor to 5G and will likely be significantly faster.

Like its predecessors, 6G networks will probably be broadband cellular networks, in which the service area is divided into small geographical areas called cells. Several companies such as Anritsu, NTT Docomo, Keysight, Fly, Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, Samsung, LG, Apple, Xiaomi, Jio, Airtel, and research institutes like Technology Innovation Institute have shown interest in 6G networks.