- India joins a 26-nation, US-led partnership to accelerate secure 6G development
- India minister Jitin Prasada says the effort will "give a new direction to the global digital landscape"
- Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and Prasada discussed 6G at the G20 Innovation Ministerial
- India's 2023 6G Vision document targets frontline contribution to 6G by 2030
INDIA has taken a significant step toward shaping the next generation of wireless technology, joining a US-led global partnership to accelerate the development of secure 6G networks, the US Department of Commerce announced.
The initiative brings together 26 countries in total, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, with the goal of coordinating governments' 6G strategies years ahead of the technology's expected rollout, which is set to begin replacing 5G networks in the 2030s.
"Today, we are pleased to announce that India has joined the US and 24 other countries in the effort to ensure that next-generation networks reflect our shared security interests, strengthen our competitiveness, and drive innovation in 6G," the Department of Commerce said in a post on X on Monday.
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The announcement follows discussions between US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and India's minister of state of commerce Jitin Prasada on the future of 6G, held on the sidelines of the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina last week.
Prasada welcomed the development, calling it a step forward for India's global standing in the sector. "India's joint effort with the United States and 24 other countries to promote innovation and competition in 6G technology will give a new direction to the global digital landscape," he said in a post on X.
The partnership builds on the "Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security," launched by the US government in July and backed by 24 other nations spanning Europe, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific. It is led by the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and seeks to advance the objectives set out in President Donald Trump's "Winning the 6G Race" Presidential Memorandum from December 2025, which identified 6G networks as foundational to the US's national security, foreign policy and economic prosperity.
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For India, the move builds on ambitions first laid out by prime minister Narendra Modi, who released the country's 6G Vision document on March 22, 2023. That document set out India's aim to become a frontline contributor in the design, development and deployment of 6G technology by 2030.
With this partnership now in place, India joins a growing circle of nations working together to shape the standards and security frameworks that will define wireless connectivity for the next decade.
(With inputs from agencies)
