Imagine not having to scramble for a charger when your phone has 1% battery left? Being able to charge a device without a port or an adapter. Imagine meetings with life-like holograms of team members. The world 25 years from now will offer this and much more, thanks to enhanced digital connectivity on the back of 6G.
India is just entering the era of 5G, which will aid faster mobile broadband access, mass-scale Internet of Things (IoT) applications and automation. 5G is expected to connect human to human and human to machine. IoT will take centre stage as connectivity becomes seamless. Smart homes, already functional in some pockets, could become commonplace, as could smart factories and smart cities.
6G will blur the lines further with even faster speeds and almost zero latency. One estimate pegs 6G at 1TB per second. 6G is expected in 2030, and by the time it is applied to mass use, it could well be 2040. So, 25 years down the line, every school could be celebrating the Independence Day flag hoisting ceremony with life-like holograms of the Prime Minister and President, wearing smart glasses or smart lenses. The Indian economy could benefit immensely from lag-free communication, with automated industries leading to efficiency across sectors. In fact, with 6G, every surface could be a communication medium. Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark says 6G could make smartphones obsolete. Like the Jetsons, 25 years from now, you may be making grocery runs in a flying car and, like Iron Man, using a Jarvis-like home assistant.