Lok Sabha Question No. 2979 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-20
Subject: 6G Technology
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Bharatiben Dhirubhai Shyal, Dhal Singh Bisen, Rajkumar Chahar, Gyaneshwar Patil, Shankar Lalwani, Raksha Nikhil Khadse, Manoj Kishorbhai Kotak, Umesh G. Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2979 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 TH  DECEMBER, 2023

## 6G TECHNOLOGY

## 2979.  DR. BHARATIBEN DHIRUBHAI SHIYAL:

DR. DHAL SINGH BISEN:

SHRI RAJ KUMAR CHAHAR:

SHRI GYANESHWAR PATIL:

SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI:

SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE:

SHRI MANOJ KOTAK:

DR. UMESH G. JADHAV:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  establish  as  a  leading  contributor  in  the development and manufacturing of 6G technology by 2030;
- (b) the initiative taken by the Government for expansion and timely deployment of 5G network facilities in the country;
- (c) the current status of 5G cell towers fiberization through the districts and State/UT-wise;
- (d) the progress made so far in the mapping of telecom assets on the PM Gati Shakti-National Master Plan (NMP) platform; and
- (e) the details of districts  or  areas  in  the  country  till  date  where  3G  and  4G  services  are  not available including the district and State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

- (a) The Government has released Bharat 6G Vision Document with the following objectives:
- i. Design, develop and deploy 6G network to provide ubiquitous, intelligent and secure connectivity for high quality living experience.
- ii. Affordability,  Sustainability  and  Ubiquity  which  align  with  the  national  Vision  of Atmanirbhar Bharat that seeks to empower every Indian to become self- reliant.

In order to take a lead in 6G technology, the Government has constituted Bharat 6G Mission and Apex Council to lay down the Phase-wise objectives of 6G, suggest the research and innovation pathways to be explored and review the progress of implementation of Bharat 6G Vision from time to time. Further, Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA), an alliance of domestic industry, academia, national research institutions  and  standards  organisations  has  been  launched  to  enable  India  to  become  a leading  global  supplier  of  IP,  products  and  solutions.  B6GA  has  also  signed  Memorandum  of

Understanding with NextG Alliance of USA to explore collaboration opportunities on 6G wireless technologies. The Government has also taken following steps to take a lead in development of 6G technology by 2030:

- a. Government has launched Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme with 5% of  annual  collections  from  Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund  for  funding  research  & development of technologies, products, and services. Under TTDF, two proposals for test beds have  been  approved,  viz.  6G  THz  Testbed  through  consortium  of  Society  for  Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER), IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati and IIT  Patna;  Advance  Optical  Communication  Test  Bed  with  Consortium  Members  as  IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and other academic institutions.
- b. Government has sanctioned 100 5G and beyond labs at academic institutions across India. This initiative is also a pivotal step for building a 6G - ready academic and start-up ecosystem in the country.
- c. India  has  contributed  in  International  Telecommunications  Union  International  Mobile Technology (IMT) 2030 framework, also called 6G by industry for inclusion of 'Ubiquitous Connectivity'  as  one  of  the  six  usage  scenarios  of  6G  and  coverage,  interoperability  and sustainability as capabilities of 6G technology.
4. (b)    5G services have been launched in India with effect from 01-10-2022. Government has taken several initiatives such as making available adequate spectrum, launching PM Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal,  reforming and simplifying Standing Advisory Committee on Radio Frequency Allocations (SACFA) clearance procedure, amending the Right of Way (RoW) rules to expedite permissions etc. These have resulted in India witnessing one of the fastest roll out of 5G services in the world.
5. (c) Out  of  total  3,97,925  Basic  Transceiver  Stations  (BTSs),  providing  5G  services  in  the country, 2,65,613 BTSs have fiber backhaul connectivity;
6. (d) As on date, the following Telecom assets have been mapped on PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan platform:
- i. 12  lakh  RKM  (Route  Kilometers)  Optical  Fiber  Cable  (OFC)  from  Public  Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and 21,000 km of State OFC,
- ii. 7.69 lakh mobile towers having 27.45 lakh BTSs,
- iii. 1.33 lakh PM-WANI Wi-Fi hotspots,
- iv. 19,488 Proposed Mobile Towers of 4G saturation project,
- v. 3,795 Mobile towers (planned/radiating) of various Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) projects and 5 HIP (High Impact Projects).
12. (e) In order to provide telecom connectivity in uncovered villages in the country, the Government has undertaken numerous schemes. Government has planned 41,160 towers in uncovered areas of the country to provide connectivity to more than 54,000 villages at the cost of more than Rs. 41,331 Crore.

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