The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), an industry body which represents the private telecom operators in India, has appreciated the government's stance on the 6 GHz spectrum. The government has identified the 6425-7125 Mhz band for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) services under the NFAP 2025. This was demanded by the telecom operators to not only serve 5G efficiently, but also be able to plan for 6G in the future. The telcos will get more spectrum in the mid-band and not have to worry about capacity issues.
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Along with this, the association has asked that the 500 MHz band in the 5925-6425 MHz should be identified for IMT. This is because of the population's desnity in India and the rapid growth in mobile data consumption.
COAI said that India needs the full 1200 MHz in the 6 GHz band for mobile services. Dr S.P. Kochhar, Director General, COAI, said, "To meet exponential data growth and deliver affordable, high-quality 5G and future 6G services, each TSPs requires at least 400 MHz of contiguous mid-band spectrum."
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"Existing mid-band spectrum holdings are insufficient to meet future capacity requirements. Next-generation technologies will further rely on large, contiguous spectrum blocks to support ultra-high throughput, low latency, immersive applications, AI-driven services, smart manufacturing, and intelligent mobility," Kochhar added.
The mid-band spectrum is crucial for the telcos because it offers the optimal balance between coverage and capacity. The internet companies have asked the government to delicense a part of 6 GHz band so that it can be used for Wi-Fi services in the country. Wi-Fi 6E depends on the avaialbility of the 6 GHz band spectrum. The conclusion of this should happen in the near future and the decision will be closely monitored by the telecom industry.
