Qualcomm Eyes 6G FWA and Satellite Connectivity, Strengthens India R&D Ties: Report

Qualcomm Eyes 6G FWA and Satellite Connectivity, Strengthens India R&D Ties
US-based wireless technology company Qualcomm Technologies is aggressively advancing its work on 6G fixed wireless access (FWA) and satellite connectivity, aiming to stay ahead in the next wave of wireless innovation. In an interaction with ETTelecom, John Smee, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Global Head of Wireless Research at Qualcomm, highlighted the company’s focus on Indian academia, local R&D capabilities, 5G FWA and non-terrestrial networks (NTN).

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Also Read: 5G FWA Is a Game-Changer for India’s Low Broadband Penetration, Says Qualcomm Executive

Deepening Academic Partnerships in India

Qualcomm has been reportedly deepening its engagement with Indian institutes and universities, providing students with hands-on access to augmented reality headsets, robots, drones, and Qualcomm laptops. The company is also funding faculty research, student fellowships, and academic publications, creating a robust platform for technological collaboration.

India plays a critical role in Qualcomm’s global ambitions, Smee noted. “There is a lot of collaboration between our global teams. The teams here bring dynamic energy and a local twist to how the markets are evolving and developing some of the new use cases in the global first wave that is happening here differently for the first time,” he reportedly said. Qualcomm’s Chennai design unit contributes significantly to global projects, developing new use cases and innovations tailored to both Indian and international markets.

Driving the Future of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)

On the FWA front, Qualcomm sees 5G FWA as a key growth area, with plans to enhance its capabilities in 6G. The company is working on cost-effective devices and improved specifications to make 6G FWA even more compelling for operators. Beyond FWA, Qualcomm identifies drones and enterprise applications as promising areas for experimentation, alongside growing consumer data demand in markets like India.

“5G FWA is an interesting area. But there is also a lot of discussion about where that should go next. For 6G, we are designing FWA to be even better, because FWA was such an important part of 5G in our discussions with operators. We want to make 6G even better, even with a very compelling cost structure on the device side. We are trying to design a product with specifications so that 6G delivers improvements for that,” Smee said in response to a question on partnerships with telcos and FWA.