With 5G services still unavailable to many in India, the Department of Telecommunications on Monday launched the Bharat 6G Alliance to Drive Innovation and Collaboration in Next-Generation Wireless Technology.

The announcement was made by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology.

Addressing the gathering at the event, the Union Minister said the Telecom Sector has transformed as a sunrise sector in the last nine years.

He added that the world is following the path of technology that India is following.

Talking about the 6G technology, Union Minister Vaishnaw said that India has acquired over 200 patents for 6G technology.

"The forthcoming 6G technology will leverage the foundation laid by 5G and offer enhanced capabilities such as improved reliability, ultra-low latency, and affordable solutions,” he said.

He further emphasized that Bharat 6G alliance shall provide a push for making India a leader in 6GTechnology and IPR.

He also mentioned that in the past 9 years data cost has been reduced from Rs.300/GB in 2014 to Rs.10/GB in 2023.

The Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA is a collaborative platform consisting of public and private companies, academia, research institutions, and Standards development organizations.

"B6GA will forge coalitions and synergies with other 6G Global Alliances, fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange," an official release stated.

In the very same event, the website for Bharat6G Alliance was also launched.

The primary objective of B6GA is to understand the business and societal needs of 6G beyond technology requirements, foster consensus on these needs, and promote high-impact open research and development (R&D) initiatives.

B6GA aims to bring together Indian startups, companies, and the manufacturing ecosystem to establish consortia that drive the design, development and deployment of 6G technologies in India. By accelerating standards-related patent creation within the country and actively contributing to international standardization organizations such as 3GPP and ITU, B6GA seeks to position India at the forefront of 6G innovation.

One of the key goals of B6GA is to facilitate market access for Indian telecom technology products and services, enabling the country to emerge as a global leader in 6G technology. To achieve this, These efforts shall promote technology ownership and indigenous manufacturing, create a culture of technology co-innovation, reduce imports, boost export opportunities and augment creation of Intellectual Property.

Previously in March, 2023 the PM had unveiled the 6G vision document highlighting the tremendous potential of the initiative to create fresh opportunities for innovators, industries, and startups.

The vision document outlines India's comprehensive plans to develop and launch 6G telecom services within the next few years.

(With inputs from Business Today)