"Owning standard-essential patents matters more than deploying technology first." Examine this statement with reference to India's 6G ambitions.

At IMC 2026, India repeated its target of securing at least 10% of global 6G patents and standards [1]. Standard-essential patents (SEPs) are patents that every product built to a standard must use. Owning them decides who earns royalties and who shapes the technology. The statement largely holds, but owning patents and deploying technology support each other; India needs both.

Why owning SEPs matters more

• Economic: SEP holders earn licence fees and adopters pay them. FRAND (fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory) terms do not fix the price, which is negotiated or fought in court. That is why WIPO published a separate 2026 report on how to value SEP licences [2][3].
• Import dependence: Imports of telecom instruments rose 21% in 2024-25 [4]. Deploying technology without owning it deepens this dependence.
• Strategic/security: Countries that help write a standard also shape its security features. The MoS asked for Indian alternatives to 10–20 critical imported network technologies [1].

Why deploying first still matters

• FRAND access: Licences must be offered on fair and non-discriminatory terms, so India can adopt 6G affordably without owning patents [2].
• Proven gains: India's connectivity gains came from rolling out networks quickly: 5G reaches every district through about 5.6 lakh BTS [1].
• Capacity gap: India's total research spending (GERD) is about 0.64% of GDP, and companies fund only about 36% of it, against more than 70% in the US, China and South Korea [5]. SEPs come mostly from company research.
• Use, not just inputs: Only 766 of one lakh gram panchayat Wi-Fi hotspots were active, and DoT's 2025-26 spending is estimated at 34% below budget [4]. Counting patents filed, like counting towers built, can hide a gap in actual results.

Way forward

• Measure Indian proposals accepted into the 6G standard, not just patents filed.
• Use the ₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund to pay for standards research by equipment makers and startups [5].
• Give the TTDF (about 136 projects, about ₹500 crore) [1] a dedicated, steady fund. Train the startups in the Bharat 6G Alliance (30+ of its 80+ members) [6] in SEP licensing, using WIPO's mediation services [2].

In short, SEPs give India royalties, bargaining power and security that deployment alone cannot. Patents without rollout and real use, however, add little. Pursuing both, as the Bharat 6G Vision does [6], can move India from "Digital India" to "Intelligent India" [1], in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat and SDG 9.