India allows licence-free use of 6GHz spectrum in a win for Big Tech

The government has finally allowed the licence-free use of a portion of the high-speed 6GHz spectrum required for next-generation devices like smart glasses, accepting a key demand of Big Tech companies over objections of India’s telecom operators.

“No licence or frequency assignment shall be required by any person to establish, maintain, work, possess or deal in any wireless equipment for the purpose of low power indoor and very low power outdoor wireless access systems, including radio local area networks operating in the frequency band 5925-6425 MHz,” the communications ministry said in the 20 January gazette notification.

India joins 96 countries that have enabled 6GHz spectrum for WiFi. Companies can use these airwaves without purchasing them through auctions in India, something that the lobby representing Sony, Meta, Apple and Google had demanded. Telecom service providers opposed the licence-free use of the spectrum and sought the entire band to meet data growth and deliver affordable 5G and future 6G services.

“It is a win-win for all the stakeholders, especially the consumers. Consumers will benefit because the advanced technology of WiFi 6E would become available with more throughput and security features,” said Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Telecom operators also stand to benefit as they can carry out mobile data offloading–shifting of data from congested networks to alternatives–on WiFi to avoid congestion on their licensed spectrum for better service quality, he said.

Gupta said the move will also help the ‘make in India’ initiative by providing an opportunity to manufacture and export WiFi 6E equipment.

Some technology companies were unable to launch these gadgets in the country because the 6GHz band of the WiFi spectrum was unavailable, according to industry executives. For instance, in November 2024, Sony said its PlayStation 5 Pro won’t be released in India in the absence of the 6GHz band.

Currently, home WiFi routers operate in the 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands. Analysts suggest that upgrading the band to 6GHz can enhance home broadband speeds and performance with the new WiFI 6E and 7 technologies.

“The industry has waited for over four years for the delicensing of the 6 GHz band. This is one of the most important telecom decisions for keeping pace with technological advancement,” said T.V. Ramachandran, president of Broadband India Forum (BIF), which counts companies such as Google and Meta as its members.

According to Ramachandran, WiFi services and speeds will improve, which is crucial as nearly 80% of data is now consumed indoors.

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said at an industry event on 24 June that the rules for license-free use of the 6GHz band would be out before 15 August 2025, but the final notification was delayed.

However, the department of telecommunications’ (DoT) spectrum allocation plan released on 30 December had not mentioned licence-free use of any portion of the 6GHz band, though a draft released in May last year had proposed it.

The DoT had proposed using the licence-free band in lower-power indoor and very low-power outdoor wireless access systems.

However, in the final 20 January notification on licence-free use, the government has also increased the power spectral density to 11 dBm (decibel-milliwatts) per MHz for low-power indoor devices from 5 dBm in the draft. For very low-power outdoor devices, the power spectral density has increased from -5 dBm to 1 dBm per MHz. This would ensure that devices transmit stronger radio signals.

The big tech companies, represented by BIF, had demanded an increase in power density for indoor usage. However, the government has not changed power limits for outdoor use even though Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd had requested that a higher-powered signal be allowed.

According to the notification, high-speed devices using the lower 6GHz band shall be prohibited on oil platforms. The government said the indoor use shall be prohibited on land vehicles (such as cars or trains), boats and aircraft, except when flying above 10,000 feet. Besides, the companies using the band will not be allowed to control drones and unmanned aerial systems.

The move is aimed at preventing any signal interference with licensed spectrum for certain critical applications.