6G

• Recently, the Prime Minister launched the Bharat 6G vision document and the 6G Testbed as part of its 6G mission.

About 6G

• The 6G (sixth-generation wireless) has been conceived as a far superior technology promising internet speeds up to 100 times faster than 5G.
• As opposed to 5G, which at its peak can offer internet speeds up to 10 gigabits per second, 6G promises to offer ultra-low latency with speeds up to 1 terabits per second.
• Use cases of 6G include remote-controlled factories, constantly communicating self-driven cars and smart wearables taking inputs directly from human senses.

Bharat 6G Vision document

• It is prepared by the Technology Innovation Group on 6G (TIG-6G) to develop a roadmap and action plans for 6G in India.
• The government plans to implement the 6G project in two phases.
  • Phase 1 (2023-2025): Support to explorative ideas, risky pathways, and proof-of-concept tests.
  • Phase 2 (2025-2030): Conceptualizing and delivering potential technology solutions.
• An apex council is to be constituted to lay down phase wise objectives, select research and innovation pathways, and approve financial support for them. Key focus of council will be on new technologies such as Terahertz communication, radio interfaces, tactile internet, etc.
• To fund research and innovation on 6G, the government plans creation of a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore to facilitate various funding instruments such as grants, loans, VC fund, fund of funds, etc. for the next 10 years.

Test bed

• PM also launched 6G research and development test-bed (Co-developed by a consortium of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), including Guwahati and Madras).
• It’ll provide academic institutions, industries, start-ups, MSMEs etc. a platform to test and validate evolving ICT technologies.