Spectrum clash clouds Wi-Fi 7's path to seamless connectivity

Wi-Fi 7's rollout in India faces hurdles as the 6GHz spectrum's allocation remains unresolved, limiting its full potential in a growing tech market

- BY VERNIKA AWAL

In January 2025, Qualcomm, the US-headquartered chipmaker, hosted a roundtable to discuss the company's latest technology initiatives and India operations. Reports emerging from this roundtable underlined a key aspect—conflict around the latest standards of wireless Internet connectivity, Wi-Fi 7.

During its presentation, Qualcomm said that it is moving ahead with equipping devices to support Wi-Fi 7, even in India—despite a lack of clarity around whether the 6GHz telecommunications connectivity spectrum would be available for usage in India. The reason for this is simple—despite over a year of debates, no party has decided whether the 6GHz spectrum bands would also be accessible to technology firms.

As a result, even as India pushes for foundational research in fields such as 6G networks and quantum communications, the currently available wireless home Internet standard of Wi-Fi 7 remains unavailable mainly in the country. In fact, on 8 November last year, Japanese tech and media conglomerate Sony decided not to launch its PlayStation 5 Pro gaming console in India, citing conflicts with the console's inability to work on Wi-Fi 7 in India.

WHY THE ISSUE?

To understand this further, it is essential to know why the 6GHz band is contentious. The latter, which covers a wireless communications spectrum ranging from 5925MHz to 7125MHz, is currently reserved partially by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for use in satellite communications services.

Telecom operators have pitched for spectrum usage with the central government's Department of Telecommunications, stating that the spectrum band is crucial for delivering low latency 5G connectivity to homes nationwide. As a result, the operators have urged DoT to open up access to this band for terrestrial network usage.