India Aims to Roll Out 6G Telecom Network By End of Decade: Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said that India is targeting the rollout of 6G telecom network, which will provide ultra high speed internet connectivity, by the end of the decade. India currently has 3G and 4G telecom networks and companies are gearing up to launch 5G over the next few months. It is estimated that the 5G network rollout will add USD 450 billion to the Indian economy, he said at the silver jubilee event of telecom sector regulator TRAI here.

“This is not just increasing internet speed but also the pace of development and creating jobs,” he said, adding the 5G technology will bring positive change in governance of the country, ease of living and ease of doing business. The Prime Minister said it will boost growth in agriculture, health, education, infrastructure and logistics, he said. Connectivity, Modi said, will decide the progress of the country in the 21st century and so modern day infrastructure needs to be rolled out.

According to the prime minister, a task force has started work on rolling out a 6G network by the end of the decade. Taking pot shots at the previous Congress-led UPA government, Modi said the 2G era was symbolic of policy paralysis and corruption. The country, under his government, has moved transparently to 4G and is now going to 5G, Modi said. Teledensity and internet users are fast expanding, he said, adding that mobile manufacturing units in India have expanded from 2 to over 200 and the country is now the world’s biggest mobile manufacturing hub. The prime minister also said that his government has encouraged healthy competition that has led to India having one of the cheapest telecom data charges in the world. Indigenous 5G test bed in telecom sector is an important step in India’s self-reliance, he added.