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Indian telecom industry has kicked off 2025 on a strong note with the government approving spectrum refarming for mobile services.
Earlier this month, the Indian government approved the refarming of 687MHz of spectrum, to be procured from various ministries, to help service providers improve 5G network experience and subsequently use it for 6G services.
The spectrum will be acquired from the Ministry of Defence, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Out of the 687MHz spectrum, 328MHz will be released immediately.
This spectrum, worth around 2 trillion Indian rupees (US$23.16 billion) according to media reports, will be auctioned to be allocated to the telecom service providers. The timelines of spectrum refarming and auction are unclear. The decision to refarm the spectrum is in line with the demand of Indian telcos for additional spectrum for 5G and 6G services.
While the frequency bands of the 687Mhz spectrum are unclear, a significant part of it is expected to be in the 6GHz band. Industry bodies GSMA and COAI have in the past urged the government to allocate this spectrum for mobile services. However, Broadband India Forum (BIF), which boasts several technology players such as Google, Meta, Intel and Amazon as members, has advocated that 6GHz be used for providing WiFi services.
The number of 5G subscribers as well as 5G consumption is growing which has started to impact 5G performance. As of now, only Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are offering 5G while Vodafone Idea and BSNL are likely to launch commercial 5G services later this year.
"This [spectrum refarming] will enable the rollout and provision of better 5G services to the entire nation at large, which is the broad aim of the Government and the industry," says Lieutenant General Dr. SP Kochhar, Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).
As per media reports, the Committee of Secretaries has started working on a report, likely to come out later this year, to identify additional spectrum to refarm in the next phase.
India held the first 5G spectrum auction in 2022, which generated INR1.5 trillion ($17.35 billion) from the sale of 72,097.85MHz of spectrum. Reliance Jio acquired spectrum in the 700Mhz, 800MHz, 1,800MHz, 3,300MHz and 26GHz bands. It acquired 10MHz of the 700MHz frequency band in all 22 circles (service areas). In addition, it acquired 14.4MHz of spectrum in the 1,800MHz band for INR9.7 billion ($112.7 million).
On the other hand, Bharti Airtel acquired 19,867MHz of spectrum in several bands including 3,300MHz, 900MHz, 1,800MHz, 2,100MHz and 26GHz bands. In last year's auction, it bought 42MHz in the 900MHz band, 35MHz in 1,800MHz band and 20MHz in 2,100MHz band.
India's third largest service provider, Vodafone Idea, procured spectrum in the 3,300MHz band in 17 circles and 26GHz band in 16 circles in the first 5G spectrum auction. Vodafone Idea added 18.8MHz in the 900 MHz band, 1.8MHz in 1800MHz and 10MHz in the 2,500MHz frequency band last year.
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