India Joins US and 24 Countries in Global Initiative to Shape Secure 6G Networks

India has joined the United States and 24 other countries in an international initiative aimed at shaping the development of next-generation 6G telecommunications networks, expanding New Delhi’s participation in the global effort to influence the technologies, standards and security architecture that will underpin communications beyond 5G.

The development was officially reported by Akashvani on September 8, 2026. According to the government broadcaster, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that India had joined the United States and 24 other participating countries in an effort to ensure that future telecommunications networks reflect shared security interests while strengthening technological competitiveness and encouraging innovation.

India’s participation is significant because 6G remains at an early stage of international development. The technologies, spectrum arrangements, network architectures and global standards that will eventually define commercial 6G are still being developed. Countries that participate during this formative stage therefore have an opportunity to influence how those standards evolve rather than simply adopting technologies developed elsewhere.

The announcement followed discussions between Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during the G20 Innovation Ministers’ Meeting in the United States.

Prasada led the Indian delegation to the meeting held on September 1–2, 2026, at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The gathering was hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

During their bilateral engagement, India and the United States discussed strengthening cooperation across several strategically important technology sectors, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence and data centres. The future of 6G and the importance of international cooperation in next-generation telecommunications were also part of the discussions.

The new initiative therefore fits into a much broader technological relationship between India and the United States.

The two countries had already formally identified next-generation telecommunications as an area for cooperation during the India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue in March 2023. In their joint statement, the two governments expressed interest in working together on the development of next-generation telecommunications standards, including 6G, involving government agencies, standards organisations and industry bodies.

They also agreed to cooperate on the validation and deployment of trusted and secure next-generation telecom network equipment, including Open RAN technologies and subsequent generations of communications infrastructure.

India’s participation in the latest multinational initiative consequently extends a process that has been developing for several years, but gives it a wider international framework.

For India, the move also complements its domestic Bharat 6G Vision, under which the country wants to become a front-line contributor to the design, development and deployment of 6G technologies by 2030.

The Government of India released the Bharat 6G Vision in March 2023 with the objective of developing networks capable of providing ubiquitous, intelligent and secure connectivity. Unlike earlier generations of mobile technology, where India was predominantly a technology adopter, the government wants Indian companies, researchers and institutions to participate directly in creating the intellectual property and standards behind 6G.

That effort has expanded considerably.

As of July 15, 2026, the Bharat 6G Alliance had grown to 90 members, including telecom service providers, equipment manufacturers, startups, research institutions and universities. It operates through seven working groups covering areas including 6G technologies, spectrum, applications, devices and components, sustainability and international outreach.

The alliance is intended to connect India’s industry and academic research ecosystem while identifying technology gaps, developing testbeds and generating research proposals aligned with the country’s long-term 6G strategy.

India has also set itself an ambitious intellectual-property target. Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told Parliament in March 2026 that India aims to account for approximately 10% of global 6G patents. He said around 4,000 patents had already been contributed, while India’s proposal concerning ubiquitous connectivity had received acceptance within international organisations including the 3rd Generation Partnership Project and International Telecommunication Union.

Government funding is simultaneously being directed towards indigenous research.

By February 2026, the Department of Telecommunications had approved 104 research and development projects worth ₹271 crore relating to 6G technology under its telecom technology development framework. India has also developed a spectrum roadmap covering potential requirements through 2035.

Earlier government initiatives have included two specialised testbeds covering 6G terahertz technologies and advanced optical communications, while 100 5G laboratories were established at academic institutions to help create a research and startup ecosystem capable of transitioning towards 6G.

The technological ambitions extend considerably beyond simply increasing mobile-data speeds.

According to the Department of Telecommunications, future IMT-2030 or 6G systems are expected to offer higher speeds and lower latency while incorporating communication and sensing, terrestrial and non-terrestrial connectivity, and AI-native network capabilities. Commercial 6G deployment is broadly expected around 2030 as international standardisation progresses.

Security is consequently becoming part of the 6G debate from the beginning.

Future networks could connect not only smartphones but autonomous machines, industrial systems, transport networks, satellites, artificial-intelligence infrastructure and other elements of critical infrastructure. The architecture and supply chains behind these networks therefore have implications extending into cybersecurity, economic resilience and national security.

The United States has similarly placed secure 6G development among its strategic technology priorities. A White House memorandum issued in December 2025 described 6G as important to national security, foreign policy and economic prosperity and emphasised participation in the international standards organisations that will define the technology.

India’s entry into the wider initiative gives New Delhi another platform through which it can participate in these discussions alongside other technologically advanced economies.

It also reinforces India’s attempt to change its historical position in global telecommunications.

India entered the 2G, 3G and much of the 4G era primarily as one of the world’s largest telecommunications markets. With indigenous 4G technology, the rapid deployment of 5G, growing domestic telecom manufacturing and the Bharat 6G programme, the government is now seeking a substantially larger role in developing the technology itself.

International cooperation will be critical to achieving that objective because telecommunications standards are inherently global. Frequencies, network interfaces, devices and equipment must operate across national borders, meaning that technologies eventually incorporated into international standards can have enormous economic and strategic value.

India’s participation alongside the United States and 24 other countries should therefore be viewed as more than preparation for faster mobile networks.

It places India inside a wider discussion over who develops 6G technology, how future networks are secured, which technologies become international standards and how resilient the global telecommunications supply chain will be.

Combined with the Bharat 6G Alliance, government-funded research, emerging Indian intellectual property and participation in organisations such as the ITU and 3GPP, the new international initiative gives India another route towards its larger goal: becoming a co-developer and standard-setter in 6G rather than merely a consumer of the next generation of telecommunications technology.

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