Clearing the path for 6G

6G (sixth-generation wireless) will be the successor to 5G cellular technology. 6G networks will be able to use higher frequencies than 5G networks and provide substantially higher capacity and much lower latency. This is 1,000 times faster -- or 1/1000th the latency -- than one millisecond throughput.

India commences groundwork for 5G spectrum auction, to introduce services by 2022-23. 5G is expected to bring $450 billion opportunity for the country by increasing the pace of development and by creating jobs. The economy is going to further digitise by boosting the startup ecosystem, increasing governance and ease of doing business in the country.

We have witnessed India's biggest spectrum auction for 72 gigahertz of 5G airwaves worth ₹ 4.3 lakh crore where Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and a unit of Gautam Adani's Adani Enterprises were in the race to bid for 5G spectrum.

When we talk about the advantages of 5G, a 5GB movie can be downloaded in 35 seconds by using 5G internet as against 40 minutes in 4G; 2 hours in 3G; and 2.8 days in 2G.

After 40 rounds over seven straight days, market leader Reliance Jio acquired 24,740MHz of 5G airwaves — which can offer mobile internet speeds 10 times faster than 4G — worth a whopping Rs 88,078 crore, contributing nearly 59% to the central kitty. It won 10 MHz of the band in the circle after a bitter fight with Airtel, paying Rs 1,646 crore and taking the price nearly 81% higher than its base rate.

This digital evolution has brought forth a chance for innovators to introduce newer services and offerings, ushering in a change in consumer behaviour. The journey from 3G to 4G to now the adoption of 5G has led to the development of newer usage trends.

The adoption of 5G now opens a window for Indian innovators to explore the next breakthrough in technology – 6G will reshape the way people interact with AI like never before. As per industry estimates, the world is looking forward to the implementation of 6G by 2035.

Going forward, the rapid development of network and virtual reality technology can also be applied in the fields of distance education, telecommuting, and advanced three-dimensional simulation.

S Mohini Ratna, Editor, VARINDIA