Why India’s 6Ghz spectrum dilemma is affecting PS5 Pro console launch in the country

By 2021, several regulatory authorities around the world began delicensing a third band of spectrum for WiFi [File]
| Photo Credit: AP

The story so far: Earlier in November, the PlayStation 5 Pro console was released in key markets around the world, but no announcement was made regarding India. On November 8, Sony said, “PS5 Pro will not be available in some countries (which presently includes India) where 6GHz wireless band used in IEEE 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) has not yet been allowed.” 

What’s the brief history on WiFi bands? 

In India and throughout the world, WiFi has mainly used two key bands of frequency: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Home broadband users may recognise these frequencies as separate transmissions from the same router — 2.4GHz has limited data bandwidth, but can blanket a larger area with coverage. 5GHz is significantly faster, but covers a shorter distance. The frequencies for the spectrum used by these WiFi bands was de-licensed for indoor and outdoor use separately in India starting in 2002. 

This state of WiFi technology remained the same well into the introduction of WiFi 6 in 2020. That technology uses both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies simultaneously, with greater efficiency, resulting in better speeds. But in 2021, WiFi 6E was introduced, splitting the world into two regions: those who allowed the use of 6GHz spectrum, and those that didn’t. 

What is 6GHz spectrum and what does it have to do with WiFi? 

By 2021, several regulatory authorities around the world, including Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, the U.K., and the U.S. began delicensing a third band of spectrum for WiFi. The WiFi 6E standard was introduced that year, allowing the creation of routers that broadcast on this frequency, bringing up theoretical maximum speeds to 9.6Gbps. This relied on the band of spectrum between 5,925MHz and 7,125MHz, known as 6GHz spectrum. 

But in several countries, that is not yet the case. India and China have not allowed the use of 6GHz spectrum for WiFi yet. While the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) generally tries to keep wireless frequencies for telecom, WiFi, satellite and other use cases uniform around the world, several countries have not yet agreed on a standard division of the 6GHz band. 

Who has the 6GHz band in India, and who wants it?

The 6GHz band is currently with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for satellite use cases. However, satellite communications over 6GHz are unlikely to interfere meaningfully with WiFi-like use cases; at any rate, at the World Radiocommunications Conference last year, India and some other countries were able to get an extension till 2027 on what to do with some or all of the spectrum.

Around the world, and certainly in India, telecom operators have expressed intense interest in getting 6GHz spectrum for 5G and 6G, a demand that India may be poised to entertain. Tech companies, such as those represented by the Broadband India Forum — Google, Meta, Amazon, and others — have argued for a US-like allocation for this spectrum to WiFi. 

Both camps seem to be pushing for the entire 6GHz band to be used for either telecom or WiFi. The government may follow the lead of countries like Australia, which have delicensed half the spectrum, while considering what to do with the other half. 

What comes next and when will PS5 Pro be available in India?

While the 6GHz debate is complex in its own right, it is not entirely clear that the consumer electronics’ interests are significantly impacted by India’s decision. Apple and Samsung phones sell in India with the exact same support for 6GHz WiFi, for instance, but the WiFi feature is programmed to avoid connecting to 6GHz spectrum. Presumably, Sony could do the same, by making consoles sold in India incompatible with this band of spectrum until regulatory clarity emerges.

If and when Sony decides that this is worth the work, or if they decide to invest in manufacturing a separate variant of the PS5 with older WiFi hardware, it will release in India.

At any rate, WiFi 7 as a technology does not need 6GHz to work in India. Advances in WiFi technology are based not (just) on newer bands of wireless spectrum, but in greater efficiency and using these bands simultaneously. Even without the 6GHz spectrum, WiFi 7 routers can be sold in India that make the maximum wireless speed faster than any home broadband plans that are even sold here in the first place.

In response to a query from The Hindu, the Department of Telecommunications said that if “a router or device’s operating frequency is restricted to … delicensed bands, they are permitted to be used in the country.”