Telcos Ask DoT for Inclusion in 6G Task Force

According to reports, the telcos are unhappy with DoT's decision of not including them in any of the 6G Task Force groups. This comes in light of DoT creating six 6G Task Force groups to work on various aspects of 6G.

Telcos Want in on the 6G Task Force

Notably, the DoT has created groups under the 6G Task Force in order to undertake research and development, pre-standardization, and market readiness for 6G.

Currently, three of the six task force groups are headed by IIT professors, and one by an IISc professor. One of the groups is led by A K Tiwari, Member (Technology), DoT, while N G Subramaniam, Chair, TSDSI; COO, TCS, leads the last group. Interestingly, the groups do have a representative each from the COAI, and all the TSPs are members of the industry body.

However, the telecom operators believe that including a COAI representative does not give them enough say on crucial issues. Given that telcos are an important stakeholder in any mobile standards-related activities undertaken by the government, the reaction seems justified.

For instance, the 6G task force for spectrum policy might interest the telcos the most. Interesetingly, the spectrum allocation policy remains the primary concern for telcos. The telcos have pointed out that if the DoT offers to administratively allocate spectrum, the tech companies will start to offer services. Therefore, that will disrupt the level playing field the telcos have been enjoying so far.

On issues critical to telcos, the industry feels that they would like to submit their views individually. The telecom sector feels that the COAI representative might not express all of their views in detail. Since the TSPs are the primary stakeholders when it comes to telecom tech, they feel that their inclusion should be a given.

Notably, the telcos have seen a similar exclusion before. Earlier, the DoT did not invite the telcos for framing the spectrum policy for the next decade; tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple and so on were there. The telcos did submit their views later on, but the initial exclusion left many dissatisfied.

The 6G Task Force Groups

These task forces have specific aims and objectives towards 6G research. For example, the task force headed by ex-TSDSI Chair Bhaskar Ramamurthi, will work on multi-platform, next-generation networks. The task force group will work on developing new network elements, along with drone communications, LEO satellite overlay, and so on.

Also, there is a dedicated 6G task force for spectrum policy. Headed by an IIT Kanpur professor, the task force will research and recommend ways to reuse spectrum and new models for spectrum ownership and sharing. Along with this, the group will also seek to develop flexible spectrum allocation policies, and consider coverage solutions such as satcom, drones, UAVs, along with their respective spectrum requirement.

These task forces are working on various aspects of 6G to make it an even more enticing opportunity than 5G. Of course, 6G is still at least a decade away in India. However, learning from 5Gi, India has set its sights on launching a 6G standard by 2024. The 6G task forces, therefore, have much work to do.