Consumers in India will have to wait to lay their hands on the next-generation augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) products of companies such as Apple, Meta, Sony, and Google. This is because these firms have been unable to launch these gadgets in the country due to the unavailability of the Wi-Fi spectrum in the 6 GHz band, industry executives said.
For instance, Sony PlayStation 5 Pro won’t be releasing in India in the absence of the 6 GHz band. “PS5 Pro will not be available in some countries (which currently includes India) where the 6 GHz wireless band used in IEEE 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) has not yet been allowed,” Sony said in a statement last week.
Another case is of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses which were launched globally last year and are yet to come to India. The smart glasses are Wi-Fi 6 certified and if connected to a below 6 GHz Wi-Fi band such as 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz, they may not perform efficiently or have heating issues on wireless networks such as 5G, experts said.
Apple’s Vision Pro, which also has not been launched in India, also uses Wi-Fi 6 technology and requires a high bandwidth. Besides, there are many other telecom equipment makers who are awaiting regulatory clarity before launching Wi-Fi 6E compatible routers.
“These AR/VR devices require low power and high bandwidth. Using it on 5G cellular may not only result in heating issues, but they may not work indoors,” an expert said, adding that the devices would require the next generation of Wi-Fi such as 6E & 7 for optimum results.
Queries sent to Meta and Apple did not elicit any response till the time of going to the press.
Wi-Fi 7 is the latest technology after 6E that maximises the overall capacity, reduces latency and increases speed. India is yet to give a regulatory clearance to the use of 6 GHz band amid a tussle between telcos and tech firms over the band.
Telcos want the government to allocate the 6 GHz band for 5G, whereas tech companies want the whole or part of the spectrum band to be delicensed to improve Wi-Fi services.
The 6 GHz band that includes the spectrum in the 5925-7125 MHz range has the potential to carry high-speed data and globally in most countries used for offering Wi-Fi services.
“Globally, billions of Wi-Fi devices are scheduled to be shipped in this year in the 6 GHz band. This is an opportunity cost for India as it is not getting to experience this,” said Alan Norman, director of public policy at Meta, at a recent industry event on spectrum management by ITU-APT Foundation.
According to Norman, 200 companies have devices authorised to use the full 6 GHz band.
Officials said the government is planning to reserve the upper portion of the band (6425-7125 MHz) for telecom services, whereas the lower portion of the band could be reserved for Wi-Fi. A committee of secretaries is looking into the issues.
Currently, the band is being used by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) for satellite operation, which has also expressed interference issues with satellites if the band is allotted for telecom services.
With regard to Isro’s concerns, the government’s plan is to vacate the satellites’ operations to the higher Ku band – 12 GHz – in a phased manner, officials said.
Telcos are of the view that the allocation of spectrum in 6 GHz band without auction would result in a potential loss of over Rs 3 lakh crore to the national exchequer.
The Broadband India Forum (BIF), which represents technology firms, has objected to the demand of telcos. By assigning the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi, India has the chance to provide 5G-like service to the unconnected and under-connected masses in the country, BIF said.
