Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani Urges Telcos to Enhance R&D Spending to Shape 6G, AI-RAN

Why It Matters

Elevated R&D funding is essential for India to capture future 6G market share and secure high‑margin services, while stronger security measures protect the expanding digital economy.

Key Takeaways

• Indian telcos spend under 1% of revenue on R&D
• Global rivals allocate 15‑25% of revenue to R&D
• 6G leadership requires homegrown patents, not just government labs
• Fraud‑prevention tools saved roughly $280 million in losses
• Strengthening KYC and call‑filtering is critical to curb AI‑driven scams

Pulse Analysis

India’s telecom industry, which posted about $45 billion in FY25 revenue, is at a crossroads. While global giants such as Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung pour 15‑25% of their earnings into research, Indian operators collectively allocate a fraction of a percent. This disparity hampers the country’s ability to influence emerging 6G standards and to secure valuable patents that drive long‑term profitability. Pemmasani’s call for a dramatic R&D uplift aims to close that gap and position Indian firms as innovators rather than mere adopters.

The push for AI‑RAN and edge‑computing capabilities reflects a broader shift toward AI‑native networks, where operators that deeply understand and re‑engineer their infrastructure can capture new margins. In markets where AI‑driven network intelligence is becoming a differentiator, owning the underlying patents translates into licensing revenue and strategic bargaining power. By investing in home‑grown research, Indian telcos can join the AI‑RAN Alliance, influence global standards, and avoid reliance on foreign technology stacks, thereby safeguarding national security and economic sovereignty.

Security concerns were also front‑and‑center, with the Department of Telecommunications rolling out tools like Sanchar Saathi, the AI‑enabled ASTR system and Chakshu platform. These initiatives have already identified and disconnected over 8.8 million fraudulent connections and prevented roughly $280 million in financial losses. Strengthening KYC, deploying calling‑name presentation, and filtering spoofed international calls are now seen as essential defenses against sophisticated AI‑generated scams, ensuring that the expanding digital ecosystem remains trustworthy for consumers and businesses alike.