Cabinet's vision for telecom: 687 MHz spectrum refarming approved, more on horizon

The Union Cabinet has approved the refarming of 687 Mhz spectrum for mobile services, and more will be done based on the study by a committee of secretaries put in place by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday.

Speaking at an event of industry body COAI, the minister said mobile services need 2,000 Mhz of spectrum by 2030, and the cabinet decision takes the total quantum of radiowaves to 1,587 Mhz.

“Yesterday’s Cabinet approved the refarming of 687 Mhz. This means this takes us from 900 Mhz to 1,587 Mhz. (Of which) 320 (MHz) will be released immediately, some by the end of next year and some by the end of 2028-29, which makes us ready for 2030,” Scindia said at Digicom Summit 2025. The government, through refarming, earmarks or arranges spectrum of services based on the demand and where the radiowaves can be used efficiently.

The telecom industry has been demanding to make available 2000 megahertz of radiowaves available for mobile services in mid-bands, which are frequencies in the range of 1000 Mhz to 6000 Mhz.

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