Two very important announcements were made by the government during the month of July 2023. In early July 2023, the government launched the Bharat 6G Alliance, a collaborative platform comprising public and private companies, academia, research institutions and standards development organisations.
The primary objective of the Bharat 6G Alliance is to understand the business and societal needs of 6G beyond technology requirements, foster consensus on these needs, and promote high-impact open research and development initiatives. It aims to bring together Indian start-ups, enterprises and the manufacturing ecosystem to establish the consortia that will drive the design, development and deployment of 6G technology in India. Further, the alliance aims to establish coalitions and synergies with other 6G global alliances, promoting international collaboration and facilitating knowledge exchange.
Another recent noteworthy move was the grant of approval for the issuance of a separate licence for satellite earth station gateways (SESG) that connect space communications with land-based networks, by the Digital Communications Commission. Post the approval, SESG licence holders will not be offering any kind of telecom or broadcasting services to consumers directly. They will instead be offering their services only to licensed firms such as telecom operators.
Further, SESG licence holders will be allowed to set up several SESGs to cater to the requirement of constellation-based satellite service providers, but will need to obtain separate permission from the Department of Telecommunications before installing each SESG. The SESG licence will be valid for a period of 20 years from its effective date, with a 10-year renewal provision.
Both the launch of the Bharat 6G Alliance and the grant of approval for a separate license for SESG are timely moves. By accelerating standards-related patent creation within the country and actively contributing to international standardisation organisations such as 3GPP and the International Telecommunication Union, the Alliance seeks to position India at the forefront of 6G innovation. The new framework for SESG was also much needed, as the earlier regime did not allow such players. In fact, the current regime mandates that a licensee should establish its own gateway to provide any kind of satellite-based communication services.
Together, these two moves would help strengthen India’s position in two of the most talked-about domains in the telecom space – 6G and satellite communications. Both moves depict the government’s intentions to remain a step ahead in terms of technology adoption and encourage multi-stakeholder participation in India’s evolving digital landscape.
