The failure to allocate telecom spectrum in the 6-GHz band may result in a radio wave shortage for fast 5G services, an essential growth factor for the nation's digital economy and the advancement of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, the industry group COAI stated.

India requires an extra 2 gigahertz of mid-band spectrum to achieve the international benchmark of 'IMT-2020' user experience, which guarantees downlink data rates of 100 megabits per second (mbps) and uplink rates of 50 mbps in densely populated urban areas, COAI Director General S P Kochhar relayed to PTI, referencing the global telecom sector GSMA.

"While the government is considering vacating the spectrum in C-band, i.e., 3,670-4,000 MHz for 5G/6G use, it may not be enough to reach the required 2 GHz spectrum for IMT (5G/6G) in mid-band. Therefore, we want to stress on the fact that it is essential that the most optimal allocation of the 1,200 MHz available in the 6 GHz band is done for mobile communications in India, to get this critical 2 GHz of spectrum in mid-band," Kochhar said.

Wifi service providers have been advocating for the de-licensing of the 6 GHz spectrum, which would enable the wave to be utilized for internet service provision. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which includes members like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, has resisted the delicensing of that spectrum.

"Delicensing of a spectrum which has a commercial value will incur loss to the national exchequer. We reiterate that the demand for delicensing the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi 7 technologies is unjustified as Wi-Fi 7 is spectrum-agnostic and therefore, can utilise other spectrum bands to provide better performance," Kochhar said.