Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Director General, Bharat 6G Alliance
India’s relationship with mobile technology has followed a familiar pattern across generations. For 4G, India was a follower. For 5G, it moved in step with the world. For 6G, the ambition is clear – India aims to lead. That shift in posture is not rhetorical. It is being built into the structures, institutions and working groups that are shaping how India engages with 6G from the ground up.
The Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA), formed in July 2023, is the vehicle for this effort. With over 80 members drawn from government, academia, telecom service providers, original equipment manufacturers, test and measurement companies and start-ups, the B6GA operates seven working groups covering spectrum, technology, devices and components, applications, green and sustainability, use cases and revenue streams and outreach. Its mandate is to make India a global supplier of 6G intellectual property (IP), products and solutions, deliver affordable 6G for all and drive commercial deployment by 2030.
Building IP before deployment
The single most important strategic shift from 5G to 6G is the question of IP. In 5G, India held approximately 1.5 per cent of global patents. For 6G, the target is 10 per cent. As of April 2026, India’s cumulative 5G and 6G patent filings stand at 7,510 with foreign origin 4,495 patents. The B6GA, in partnership with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), is jointly tracking these filings and supporting the conversion of research and development into patents and, subsequently, into standards contributions.
India has also moved from a passive observer to an active contributor at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), with over 230 contributions to 3GPP and 14 technical inputs to ITU-Radiocommunication. A significant milestone was the acceptance of the single cell with large coverage scenario as an official 3GPP evaluation scenario, which directly reflects India’s needs around rural and large-area connectivity.
Proactive approach to spectrum management
India’s 6G spectrum strategy marks a deliberate departure from its 5G approach. The country is working proactively through ITU-led processes, with spectrum reserved ahead of deployment across a phased roadmap running from 2025 to 2035.
In the short term (2025-26), the focus is on the 6 GHz mid-band (6425-7125 MHz) as a primary 6G band, with the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing refarming 600 MHz immediately and more by 2030. The 1427-1518 MHz L band is being refarmed for wide-area rural 6G coverage, with 67 MHz expected to be available by December 2026. In the mid-term (2027-30), the C+ band (4400-4800 MHz) will support enterprise and private 6G networks, while the 7-8.4 GHz upper mid-band is being advanced through India’s position paper at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027. Millimetre wave bands (37-40 GHz and 42.5-43.5 GHz) are targeted for urban hotspots. The total refarmed spectrum in the DoT roadmap currently stands at 687 MHz. In the longer term (2031-35), the V band at 66-71 GHz and sub-terahertz frequencies (100-275 GHz) will support ultra-dense and future research deployments.
From 5G labs to 6G innovation
Over 100 5G use case labs have been set up in academic institutions across the country, encompassing an indigenous 5G testbed built by a consortium of seven academic institutions and the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology, funded by DoT with a budget of Rs 2.4 billion over three years. These labs form the foundation for 6G research and have already produced 139 active research projects.
The transition path is 5G labs to 6G testbeds to deep-tech innovation hubs. The B6GA has submitted a detailed project report (DPR) to DoT, proposing a three-phase approach for the Bharat 6G Roadmap 2030, with Phase I covering 2026-27, Phase II covering 2027-30 and Phase III running beyond 2030. The DPR identifies requirements across the 6G component ecosystem, including radio frequency components, transceiver modules, baseband application-specific integrated circuits and antennas.
India’s global positioning
The New Delhi Declaration, adopted at the International Bharat6G Symposium 2025 and jointly endorsed by alliances from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, the UK and Finland, commits all signatories to developing 6G networks that are secure and trusted by design, open and interoperable, resilient and inclusive. India convened this declaration, which positions the country as a governor and norm-setter rather than a rule-taker in the next wireless era.
India’s affordable, open-source 6G stack, built on the foundation of the indigenous 5G stack and open radio access network products, can serve as a sovereign alternative for over 100 nations that cannot afford proprietary western 6G infrastructure. The goal is not only domestic 6G deployment but also establishing India as a trusted digital architecture partner for the Global South.
