Broadband India Forum inks MoU with Wireless Broadband Alliance to expand wireless ecosystem in India

Broadband India Forum and Wireless Broadband Alliance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today at their inaugural event on "Wi-Fi and Delicensing of 6GHz - The Driving Force of Broadband for All" to collaborate on expanding the NextGen Wireless Ecosystem.   

Today's event highlighted the importance of the internationally harmonised unlicensed 6Ghz spectrum band in solving the Digital Divide and making the spectrum accessible for the next generation.   

Wi-Fi6E and Wi-Fi 7 devices, based on IEEE 802.11 standards, accelerate technology developments including AR/VR, Holographic, and Haptic systems.  

The event brought together policymakers, industry executives, subject matter experts, and other stakeholders to explore Wi-Fi6E and other new Wi-Fi technologies that operate only in the delicensed 6Ghz radio band that can complement 5G and bridge the connection gap while stimulating innovations and applications, and service development.    

Since the opening of the 6GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi has already been agreed upon by more than 50 nations across the world, it is essential for India to realize its broadband ambitions and meet the development potential for businesses and society, as per the organization. 

To complement 5G in areas where traditional tower and fiber infrastructure deployment may not be practical or cost-effective, the event also discussed how next-generation Wi-Fi technologies riding on the delicensed 6Ghz spectrum band could help bring ultra-high-speed and low-latency connectivity to every corner of the country.   

T V Ramachandran, President, Broadband India Forum said, “BIF has conducted a very exhaustive study for co-existence in the 6GHz band based on actual data, which has conclusively proved that Wi-Fi can co-exist with incumbent users of Fixed Services (FS) and Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) in the band. 

Last month, Broadband India Forum proposed a revenue-sharing model between the government and private investors like corporations based on digital infrastructure utilisation by consumers and other stakeholders. The organisation argued that creating digital infrastructure like internet access, phone networks, data centres, etc. has a spillover effect that raises government tax collections.  

Broadband India Forum believes revenue sharing would encourage private investment in digital infrastructure. Revenues might be reinvested in industry expansion.