As per industry sources, telecom operators have requested to be included in some of the key task forces constituted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on 6G technology. Earlier on December 30, 2021, DoT had set up six academia-driven task forces under the technology innovation group (TIG) to work on various aspects of the 6G technology.
At present, these task forces do not comprise any representative from telecom operators- Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi). However, they have included a representative of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), an industry association of telcos.
Telcos, on their part, have expressed that they want to offer individual comments on certain issues. COAI and telcos are divided on issues such as secondary use of spectrum, spectrum ownership, and sharing models enabling flexible spectrum allocation, amongst others. In such a case, telcos feel the COAI representative will not be able to offer comments on everyone’s behalf.
Telcos are of the opinion that since they are the main stakeholders, they should be included in any group that is working towards the 6G telecom technology.
