Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the Bharat 6G Vision Document to develop a roadmap and action plan for a 6G network in India.
The document has been prepared by the Technology Innovation Group on 6G (TIG-6G) that was constituted in November 2021 with members from various Ministries/ Departments, research and development institutions, academia, standardisation bodies, telecom service providers, and industry.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area Office and Innovation Centre here, Modi said India has rolled out 5G mobile technology at a fast pace.
“Within six months of the roll-out of 5G technology, we are talking about 6G today. The services have been expanded to 125 cities within 120 days of the launch,” Modi said.
From being a user a few years ago, the country is moving fast to become a big exporter of telecom technology .
“Before 4G, India was only a user of telecom technology, but now India is moving fast to become a big exporter of telecom technology,” he said.
Also read: Centre sets up task groups on 6G
Modi also announced that the country would soon set up 100 new 5G labs. “These labs will help in developing 5G applications in line with the unique needs of India,” he said.
Stressing that India’s telecom and digital model is smooth, secure, transparent and trusted, the Prime Minister called this decade the ‘Techade’.
The number of Internet users in the country has increased from 25 crore in 2014 to 85 crore, with the majority in rural areas.
Modi also added the government and private sector together have laid over 25 lakh km of optical fibre in the last nine years and more than five-lakh common service centres provide online services to most rural areas.
ITU area office
India signed a Host Country Agreement in March 2022 with ITU for establishment of an area office, which envisaged an Innovation Centre embedded in it.
The new area office, fully funded by India, is located on the second floor of the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) building at Mehrauli in New Delhi.
It will serve India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Iran, enhancing coordination among the nations and fostering mutually beneficial economic cooperation in the region, a statement said.
The Prime Minister also launched the ‘Call before u dig’ mobile app.