The Union cabinet has approved refarming of 687 megahertz of spectrum for the telecom industry from various ministries, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said. on Friday
"We have a deficit of 1100 MHz of spectrum that needs to be filled till 2030," he said at the Cellular Operators Association of India's Digicom Summit of 2025. "In yesterday's cabinet, we have approved 687 MHz of spectrum to be refarmed. 320 MHz will be released immediately, some by the end of next year and the rest by 2028–29, which will make us ready for 2030."
The refarming of spectrum is being done to meet the telecom industry's requirements of 4G, 5G and later, 6G services.
Scindia said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had constituted a committee of secretaries to see how much spectrum different ministries have and whether they use it productively or are just storing it. He added that if the spectrum is not being used productively, then it must be given where it is required,
The Union minister said the committee of secretaries was now working on identifying additional spectrum that could be refarmed, adding that a report in this regard is expected to be released by mid-2025. "We will ensure that there are no bottlenecks for the telecom landscape to grow."
At the summit, the minister spoke extensively about India's telecom sector and its robust growth over the last 10 years. "India's telecom sector was like a buffering video-full of great content, but with long pauses. In the last decade, all that has changed."
Scindia said India is setting the pace in the telecom industry today. Telecom is now an instrumental sector for the nation's growth, contributing to about 7% of the gross domestic product. In the years to come, the Indian telecom sector will be critical for the world's growth as well, he remarked.
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