Telecom Secretary Dr Neeraj Mittal

India is actively laying the groundwork for future dominance in 6G technology. In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Dr Neeraj Mittal, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, said the transition from 5G to 6G would be a 10 year cycle.

“Work is actively happening on 6G. 6G is an evolving technology. From 5G to 6G, it will be a 10-year cycle, the way it was for 4G to 5G transition. You need to do R&D, standardisation, and then implementation. I think we are still very far away from 6G, but of course, the work has started. We have the Bharat 6G Alliance,” Moneycotrol quoted Dr Mittal.

The department has also recently asked for projects to be financed under 6G said Dr Mittal.

India aims to replicate its success with 5G deployment, becoming a global leader in 6G as well.

Dr. Mittal pointed to India’s instrumental role in the widespread adoption of 5G technology. According to him, the country is gearing up for similar leadership in 6G standard-setting, R&D, and boosting domestic manufacturing capabilities.

“Both academia and industry are very gung-ho about the future of 6G in India,” he said.

The telecom secretary also spoke about the use of AI within DoT.

The department uses artificial intelligence, real-time data, GIS, and geo-analytics to do infrastructure planning, especially telecom data.

“We have done it in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi. We examine telecom data to see how people move from one place to another… for instance, we plan the metro station better using that. That’s all AI,” he said.

He also spoke about the role of AI is mainly in the Chakshu portal where citizens can report suspected fraud communications and the Digital Twins project where digital technologies are used with with infrastructure planning to address real-world challenges.