Qualcomm plans to work closely with Airtel and Jio for 6G network deployment

Qualcomm and 6G network in India

• Qualcomm notes that it is working with telecom operators to deploy a 5G network already and will take the lead with 6G as well.
• Without being specific, the chipmaker says that a lot of activity on standard is underway.
• The company says that 6G will require coordination across global operators and vendors.
• The company says that Spectrum has been the key discussion point with the Indian government like which bands to use from a frequency perspective.
• At the moment, the focus is on 5G deployment.

Besides 6G, Qualcomm Technologies is said to be closely working with the Indian government and Tata Group to look at options for local packaging of its all-new PC chip, said Qualcomm chief financial officer Akash Palkhiwala. Indian employees working at the company have largely contributed to the development of the latest Snapdragon X Elite computing processor for next-gen AI PCs.

Qualcomm says that it is working closely with PMO and Tata Group to use Indian manufacturing facilities for its chips. "A lot of our chips are at the leading node, and so, until we have leading node manufacturing, it's more difficult for us to use India. But from a packaging house perspective, that's clearly an opportunity. So, we are closely aligned with Tata Group; they've been our partners for a very long time. It's a clear synergy for us," said Akash Palkhiwala.

As for making chips for PCs, the top executive says that it has been making chipsets for phones for quite some time and it only made sense to expand the experience to PCs as well.