Can India transform its teledensity challenge into 6G dominance?

With vast connectivity gaps and rising digital demand, India has a chance to build next-gen 6G networks tailored for future needs, not past systems.

- MANOJ KUMAR SINGH

In the shadow of the Himalayas, a technological giant stirs. While global powers vie for 6G supremacy with established infrastructures and saturated markets, India is playing an entirely different game—one in which its greatest weakness might become its most powerful advantage.

Picture this: In India’s gleaming urban centres, wireless teledensity soars at a staggering 125.02%, with citizens wielding multiple devices in an always-connected ecosystem. Meanwhile, just hours away in rural villages, connectivity plummets to 58.07%. This is not just a statistic. It reflects that 500 million people are standing at the threshold of digital transformation.

This stark urban-rural chasm represents both India’s most formidable challenge and its most extraordinary opportunity in the race for 6G dominance.

With 1.157 billion wireless subscribers and 945.16 million broadband users, India possesses an unmatched testing ground for emerging technologies.

India's distributed innovation approach democratises 6G development, creating incubators for breakthrough technologies nationwide.

IN BRIEF

• India's rural-urban teledensity gap presents an opportunity to design future-ready 6G networks without legacy infrastructure limitations.

• BharatNet's expansion and Rs 1.39 lakh crore investment aim to deliver ring-based, self-healing rural connectivity across 6.5 lakh villages.

• Hundred new 5G labs and 111 government-funded research proposals are accelerating India's 6G ecosystem development at the academic level.

• With 4.74 lakh 5G BTS and over 8.2 lakh telecom towers, India’s mobile-first model supports broad 6G deployment potential.