6G technology launch likely by 2023-end or 2024, says Ashwin Vaibhav

 Apart from 6G, the launch of indigenous 5G is also on the cards, the minister said, with the development of a core software for the technology to be completed  the third quarter of next year.

 India is working towards an indigenous developed 6G technology with the aim to launch it either by 2023-end or early 2024, Minister for Communication Ashwin Vaibhav said Tuesday.

 Speaking on ‘New Technology and Green Economy: Two Trends Shaping a New India?’, the fourth in a series of online, agenda-setting webinars organized by the Financial Times and The Indian Express, Vaibhav said requisite permissions  already been given to scientists and engineers working on the technology.

“6G development  already started. That will be seen somewhere in  time frame 2024 or 2023-end. That is the direction  which we are going. We will have designed  India telecom software for running the networks, manufactured in India telecom equipment, served in India telecom networks which can go global,” he said.

 Apart from 6G, the launch of indigenous 5G is also on the cards, the minister said, with the development of a core software for technology to be completed by the third quarter of next year. The auctions for 5G spectrum  also likely to happen in the second quarter of calendar year 2022, he said.

“A reference has been made to TR AI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) for 5G spectrum auctions. They have already started  consultation process. The process  end somewhere in the February-March time frame in the coming year. Then the auction process will be in Q2 of calendar year 2022,” he said.

 Earlier this year, the Cabinet had approved a set of nine structural and procedural reforms to address the short-term liquidity needs as well as long-term issues of telecom companies.

 As part of these reforms, the government had given the telcos an option to go for a four-year moratorium on payment  deferred spectrum and adjusted gross revenue dues.  the three telcos, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have  for the four-year moratorium.

 While announcing the reforms in September, Vaibhav had said that there would be another set of reforms for the telecom sector to sort out long pending legacy issues.

“The reforms that the government approved in September have been very well received. The industry is now adjusting to  reforms. A lot of stress that was there in industry is mitigated due to those reforms. Much  needs  done. We are already working on another set of reforms, which should come in 3-4 months,” he said.

 As part of the  announced in September, apart from the 4-year moratorium, the government had also announced changes such as streamlining of the auction calendar and removal of the spectrum usage charges (SUCH) from auctions, which has been a long pending demand of the private telcos.

 The telecom sector will also be able to receive 100 per cent foreign direct investment through  automatic route, up from  49 per cent permitted earlier.

 Further, for all future auctions, the Dot will not ask for bank guarantees to secure installment payments while the tenure for which spectrum can be held has been increased to 30 years from 20 years, with the option of allowing the telecom  provider to surrender the spectrum after 10 years following payment of a certain fee. An additional SUCH of 0.5 per cent, which was levied on spectrum sharing, has also been done away with.