Govt frees 500 Mhz of spectrum in high demand 6-Ghz band to boost Wi-Fi services

New Delhi: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has notified de-licensing of 500 megahertz of spectrum in the lower frequency range of the 6 Ghz band, a move which is expected to boost Wi-Fi services in the country.

The notification has come around six months after the government declared its intent in a draft Gazette Notification on May 16, 2025, to de-license these frequencies in the 6 Ghz band.

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"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 on a non-interference, non-protection and shared (non-exclusive) basis.

The newly identified 6425-6725 MHz and 6725-7125 MHz bands form part of the upper 6 GHz band (6425-7125 MHz range).

The DoT, in the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP), has identified upper frequencies in the 6 gigahertz spectrum band for advanced mobile services.

NFAP firms up the basis for the spectrum allocation for different technologies.

US tech majors Apple, Amazon, Cisco, Meta, HP, and Intel Corporation have jointly demanded to de-license the entire 1200 megahertz spectrum available in the 6 gigahertz (GHz) for Wi-Fi services.

On the other hand, Reliance Jio has demanded that the entire 1200 MHz spectrum available in the 6 GHz band should be included in the upcoming spectrum auction, even though the government decided to de-license 500 MHz of the lower frequency range in the band for low-power or Wi-Fi applications.

The DoT notification has limited the emission power of signals, which make it feasible to handle Wi-Fi device operations and not support mobile antennas that require high power.

"Power spectral density shall be suppressed by 20 dB at 1 MHz outside of channel edge, by 28 dB at one channel bandwidth from the channel centre, and by 40 dB at one and one-half times the channel bandwidth away from channel centre," the notification said.

Bharat Bhatia, President, ITU-APT Foundation of India, said that the Wi-Fi in the lower 6GHz band will complement the ongoing roll-out of 5G networks, support future 6G readiness, improve indoor broadband experience, higher speeds of Wi-Fi at homes and offices.

"While the lower power levels currently proposed to be authorized for outdoor usage up to 0.1 milliwatt will greatly support industrial automation and AI, the government needs to consider standard power up to 4 watts to address the needs of high-speed data and video in larger venues such as stadiums, concert halls, or airport terminals," Bhatia said.

Broadband gear maker GX Group CEO Paritosh Prajapati said that the government's decision to de-license the lower 6 GHz band is a pivotal step for the country's wireless ecosystem, enabling license-exempt deployment of Wi-Fi 7 technologies while maintaining strict power and safety controls.

"Combined with ITSAR compliance and security principles that increasingly align with EU and US frameworks, this policy establishes a robust foundation for secure, high-performance connectivity and reinforces India's role as a trusted hub for next-generation networking solutions at a global scale," he said.

Indian Telecom Security Assurance Requirements (ITSAR) was framed by the National Centre for Communication Security (NCCS) under the Department of Telecommunications. Domestic players see it as a move to facilitate higher value addition in local production of telecom gears and curb spurious imports.

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