New Delhi: India is edging closer to launching 6G trials, with top global experts highlighting the country’s growing importance in next-generation communication technology. Speaking at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025, researchers and industry leaders emphasized that India’s research and innovation in 6G could significantly shape global connectivity in the coming years.
Ashutosh Dutta, Chief 5G Strategist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, said ubiquitous connectivity will be one of the fundamental pillars of 6G. “Not everyone has access to cell towers or Wi-Fi, so when these are not available, we fall back on satellite,” he explained. Dutta stressed the need for integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks to ensure uninterrupted communication. “Operators, academics, and service providers should work together to build prototypes, simulations, and testbeds to support various applications,” he added.
He also highlighted the importance of security and privacy in future networks. “As we switch between access technologies like Wi-Fi and satellite, maintaining security and privacy will be crucial,” Dutta said. He further noted that collaboration across nations in chip development and AI-enabled technologies will strengthen 6G ecosystems. “India has real technical manpower and strong government support. What we need now is deeper collaboration among academia, industry, and government to develop the future skill set,” he added.
Professor Harald Haas, known globally as the “Father of Li-Fi,” said the technology could become a cornerstone of India’s connectivity revolution. “Li-Fi can help connect rural communities by building free-space optical communication where fiber is too expensive,” Haas told ANI. He said Li-Fi could complement 5G and 6G networks by adding extra data capacity and energy efficiency. “We can even use solar panels as broadband receivers, harnessing both sunlight and data simultaneously,” he explained.
Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) Executive, Iwao Hosako, praised India’s growing leadership in the field. “India is a very big power because of its industries in communications and software development,” Hosako said. He expressed Japan’s keen interest in collaborating with India to co-develop new technologies and services. “Many talented people from India already work with us, and we hope to expand this cooperation further between industries and governments,” he added.
