Summary:
Despite regulatory approval for the 6 GHz band, Wi-Fi 6 adoption in India remains extremely low, with Ookla reporting that 72.2% of Wi-Fi 6-compatible smartphones still connect to older home routers and 6 GHz usage standing at 0.1% or less. The limited improvement in download speeds when upgrading from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6 is also linked to 72.4% of broadband connections offering speeds below 100 Mbps. Wider adoption will require modernising router infrastructure, with telecom operators such as Jio and Airtel encouraged to provide Wi-Fi 6-compatible devices alongside new broadband connections.
Wi-Fi 6 received regulatory approval for use in India from the telecom department earlier this year. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Communications (MoC) de-licensed the lower 6 GHz spectrum band, paving the way for Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 services in the country. However, a large number of routers installed in Indian households do not support Wi-Fi 6. Even among users with compatible devices, the technology is not delivering its full capabilities, and there is a reason behind this.
Ookla, a company specialising in network intelligence and insights, recently reported that 72.2% of Wi-Fi 6-enabled smartphones in India continue to connect to older-generation routers at home.
Moving from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6 Offers Limited Performance Improvements
The findings indicate that switching from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6 is not providing consumers with substantial improvements in download speeds. One of the reasons is that 72.4% of broadband connections continue to record speeds below 100 Mbps. In comparison, upgrading from Wi-Fi 4 to Wi-Fi 5 delivers a 99% increase in median speeds for Indian households.
Ookla’s latest report on India also noted that Wi-Fi usage in the 6 GHz band remains at 0.1% or below, despite eight months having passed since its use for Wi-Fi was officially permitted.
India needs to modernise its router infrastructure. Currently, when customers subscribe to broadband services from leading internet service providers (ISPs) such as Jio or Airtel, a Wi-Fi router is generally included with the connection. As a result, customers do not get an option to select their router when signing up by default. They can, however, purchase a newer model separately from the market.
Existing Wi-Fi routers operate on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands because they lack support for the Wi-Fi 6 spectrum. Newer router models may offer compatibility with the latest technology. Wi-Fi 6 adoption in India remains limited, and wider adoption will require telecom operators to make infrastructure-level improvements, including offering upgraded routers when providing new broadband connections to customers.
