New Delhi: India is targeting the rollout of 6G telecom network by the end of the decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday. The 6G telecom network will provide ultra high speed internet connectivity. India currently has 3G and 4G telecom networks. Companies are gearing up to launch 5G over the next few months.
Modi was speaking at the silver jubilee event of telecom sector regulator TRAI here. Modi said it is estimated that the 5G network rollout will add USD 450 billion to the Indian economy.
“This is not just increasing internet speed but also the pace of development and creating jobs,” the prime minister said. He added the 5G technology will bring positive change in governance of the country, ease of living and doing business. It will boost growth in agriculture, health, education, infrastructure and logistics, he said.
Connectivity, Modi said, will decide the progress of India in the 21st century. So modern day infrastructure need to be rolled out.
According to the prime minister, a task force has started work on rolling out the 6G network by the end of the decade.
Modi also took potshots at the previous Congress-led UPA government. He said the 2G era was symbolic of policy paralysis and corruption. “India, under his government, has moved transparently to 4G and is now going to 5G and TRAI has played a very important role in this transition,” Modi pointed out.
The prime minister said that whenever the industry has faced challenges like retrospective tax or adjusted gross revenue, then his government has responded to the crisis expeditiously and undertaken reforms wherever required.
“These efforts have created new trust. The result of this is that over one-and-a-half times more FDI in the telecom sector has come in the last eight years compared to the amount that came into the country before 2014,” Modi pointed out.
The prime minister also said that his government has encouraged healthy competition in the telecom sector. It 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, Modi added.