Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Government has approved the refarming of 687 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum for the telecom industry from various ministries, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on January 17, a move hailed by the industries bodies for faster rollout of better 5G services across the country and prepare for the 6G era.
Speaking at the Cellular Operators Association of India’s (COAI) ‘Digicom Summit’ in the national capital, the Minister said we have a deficit of 1,100 MHz of spectrum that needs to be filled by 2030.
“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,” informed Scindia.
The refarming of spectrum is being done to meet the telecom industry’s requirements of 4G, 5G and later, 6G services.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi constituted a committee of secretaries to see how much spectrum different ministries have, and whether they use it productively or are just storing it.
According to Scindia, if the spectrum is not being used productively, then it must be given where it is required. The panel is now working on identifying additional spectrum that could be refarmed and “We will ensure that there are no bottlenecks for the telecom landscape to grow,” he said.
The refarming of spectrum will help enable the rollout of better 5G services to the entire nation at large, said the COAI.
“The COAI has logically propagated that the Indian ecosystem requires 2,000 MHz of spectrum for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) services, and we are very happy to note that this quantity has been accepted by the Cabinet under the advice of the Minister of Communications,” said Lt Gen Dr S.P. Kochhar, Director General, COAI.
“They have already allocated the spectrum that takes our holding to 320 MHz in the first phase, thus leaving a deficit of around 400 MHz which should be made up in the subsequent submissions by the Committee of Secretaries, to the cabinet,” Kochhar added. Scindia further stated that telecom is now an instrumental sector in the nation’s growth, contributing to about 7 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
