India’s love affair with 5G may still be in its infancy, but that’s not going to stop the country’s ambitious government from looking to the future for how the next generation of wireless services will be developed and delivered.
Like many agencies around the world, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided that the time has come to tackle the next spectrum frontier: the terahertz (THz) block, which lies above the 3 Hz to 100 GHz band currently available for communications, but below the 3 THz point where the radio spectrum turns infrared and lasers are used.
While this vast but currently relatively inaccessible spectrum region may not be feasible today, the technology to support it is under development, according to Indian regulators, who estimate that terahertz transmission may be developed in time to play a role in the 6G era.
in Recent Reports Regarding its outlook, TRAI noted that the realization of terahertz systems is “no longer unrealistic due to advances in optical, electronic and plasmonic transceiver design.” Millimeter Wave (mmWave) In communications, terahertz-enabled technologies enable short-distance Tbit/s connections without the use of additional spectral efficiency enhancing techniques.
And because of the shorter wavelength, the system “supports higher link directivity, is less susceptible to free-space diffraction and inter-antenna interference, operates in a much smaller footprint, and is more resistant to eavesdropping.”
However, while this band has many advantages, it also has some disadvantages: first and foremost, it has high propagation losses and power limitations, which means that signals can only be transmitted over very short distances.
Still, TRAI sees a strong possibility of playing a “pivotal role” in 6G transmission, and hopes that developments in high-bandwidth connectivity along with imaging and sensing applications using the THz bands will position India’s rapidly developing telecoms ecosystem to capture a share of the global market. And let’s not forget that India is very keen to be at the forefront of 6G developments. India looks forward to playing a global leadership role in 6G.
To get things back on track Recommendation The Indian government should open up spectrum in the 95 GHz to 3 THz range for experimentation, research and development, and grant Terahertz Experimental Authorizations (THEAs) to those who want to participate in tests and trials, provided they do not interfere with existing services.
TRAI has recommended that “the scope of THEA should be to carry out research and development, indoor and outdoor testing, technology trials, experiments and demonstrations in the range of 95 GHz to 3 THz and to sell experimental devices designed to operate in the range of 95 GHz to 3 THz through direct sales.” It has also suggested that “any organisation in India (academic institutions, R&D laboratories, Central/State Governments, Public Sector Units, Union Territories, technology parks, telecom service providers, incubators, original equipment manufacturers etc.) should be eligible to obtain a THEA.”
However, given the enormity of the research challenge and the now rapidly approaching timescales for 6G, it seems unlikely that THz technology will be able to significantly augment the transmission requirements of the first phase of 6G rollout, and even if it could, with broadband access growth plateauing, investment in lead/follow-on radio access networks is unlikely to be at the top of many operators’ shopping lists.
– Ian Scales, TelecomTV Contributing Editor
