Telcos seek DoT intervention against illegal sale of Wi-Fi 6E routers in India

Indian telecom operators have sought the government’s intervention against the illegal sale of Wi-Fi 6E wireless routers in the country via e-commerce websites and online platforms to consumers. These routers operate on the 6GHz band, whose use has not been assigned for the of providing Wi-Fi, nor has it been designated license-exempt, telcos argue.

“We would like to submit that DoT is yet to take a policy decision related to the 6 GHz band utilization. Therefore, any sale of such Wi-Fi 6E products, which utilizes the 6 GHz spectrum band in delicensed manner, is illegal and such sale would only result in unauthorized transmissions in our country,” SP Kochhar, Director-General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a letter to Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications.

ETTelecom has reviewed a copy of the letter, dated April 15, 2024.

TP-Link, Deco, Netgear, and Google, and more, are the vendors selling their Wi-Fi 6E routers in India via platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Moglix, and others, according to the data presented by the Delhi-based telco industry association.

Kochhar said that as per provisions of the Indian Telecommunications Act, 2023, the central government is the owner of the spectrum and the use of spectrum by any person requires assignment from the central government.

“However, the Act also provides for the license exempt use of spectrum. Accordingly, if found appropriate from policy perspective, the Central Government notifies the unlicensed frequencies to be used by any person as per the conditions notified by the Government in respect to specified frequencies,” Kochhar said.

Citing the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, the executive said that no person shall possess wireless telegraphy apparatus except under and in accordance with a license issued under this act.

“We earnestly request the Department (of Telecommunications) to kindly intervene in the matter and take strict measures to put a complete ban on sale of Wi-Fi products operating in the 6 GHz band, whether offline or online through e-commerce websites/platforms, through an appropriate notification to sellers of such products in the country,” Kochhar said.