Just a few months after the formal launch of commercial 5G service, India is set to commit resources to the development of 6G technologies with the release of a vision document and the inauguration of a 6G test-bed for research & development (R&D). However, 6G — the successor to 5G — is unlikely to be rolled out before 2030. By then India will be the largest cellular market in the world in terms of both users and data consumption. Getting a foot in the door early could give India the leverage to mould 6G standards in advantageous ways, and also to generate intellectual property (IP) that could make it a world leader as 6G evolves. Every “G” from 2G onwards can be described as a set of globally agreed benchmarks that allow for standardised networks which talk to one another and equipment that can be used everywhere. R&D at every stage has been focused on developing ways to transfer data more efficiently, and also to develop new use-cases. The early birds