India started with 2G in early 90s. Successively, 3G, 4G and now 5G have emerged. From a speed of 20-100 Mbps on 4G, it is expected to reach a peak speed of 1 Gbps (`1000 Mbps) on 5G. However, 6G promises a speed of 1 Tbps or 1000 Gbps. It is always prudent to keep an eye on the coming technological advances which eclipse the earlier ones. Bell’s telephone overshadowed Morse’s telegraph. Cell phones over took the landlines. Email replaced the snail mail. SMS replaced the telegrams, which in turn were replaced by WhatsApp. The coming technology may take care of the shortcomings of the earlier technology.

Even 5G falls short of expectations in transmitting 3D holographic versions. There are situations in healthcare where even 5G would not be sufficient. These situations demand ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). In addition 5G connects a million devices in one sq. km area, whereas 6G connects 10 million devices. On the lines of Parkinson’s law which states, ‘Work expands to fill the time available’, one can say,’ Usage expands to fill the network capacity available.’

There are certain challenges — energy efficiency, signal attenuation due to obstructions and water-droplets in the air, maintaining end-to-end thrust by robust cyber security and data protection.

100 -1000 MHz band offers uncrowded and wide swathes which enable greater data speeds. However, the coverage is limited. Innovations are required in edge cloud, distributed AI models, antenna design and miniaturisation.

India has to focus on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) to become self-reliant in 6G.