The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) announced that 100 5G labs have been established across India. The primary goal of these labs is to develop use cases for 5G and significantly boost the nation’s research and development ecosystem for next-generation 6G technologies. DoT Secretary Neeraj Mittal stated that this move will position India for leadership in 6G, emphasizing that the country has already achieved one of the fastest 5G rollouts globally.
The government’s commitment to next-generation communication is multi-pronged, focusing on supporting R&D, encouraging domestic manufacturing, and strengthening collaboration between academia, industry, and the government. Mittal highlighted that over 100 R&D projects dedicated to 6G are currently being supported. These projects concentrate on advancing key areas such as Open RAN, indigenous chipsets, AI-based intelligent networks, and regulatory sandboxes to foster innovation.
Furthermore, the government’s collaborative platform, the Bharat 6G Alliance, has signed 10 international collaborations with global 6G bodies. This alliance aims to capture a 10 percent share of global 6G patents by 2030. Mittal’s comments were made during the thematic session on ‘Digital Communication’ at the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC 2025).
