Adani Group to participate in India's 5G auction

Indian conglomerate Adani Group is to participate in the country's upcoming 5G auction, using any spectrum it acquires to build a private network supporting its own activities.

"As India prepares to roll out next-generation 5G services through this auction, we are one of the many applicants participating in the open bidding process," said the company in an official statement. "We are participating in the 5G spectrum auction to provide private network solutions along with enhanced cyber security in the airport, ports and logistics, power generation, transmission, distribution and various manufacturing operations."

Figure 1: (Source: Nicolas DEBRAY from Pixabay)

It is unclear if Adani Group would bid for a pan-India 5G spectrum license or target cities where its business interests are concentrated.

The company also claims that its 5G investment will support charitable efforts in education, healthcare and skills development. The Adani family, including the chairman of Adani Group, Gautam Adani, recently promised to donate 600 billion Indian rupees (US$7.5 billion) to charity through the Adani Foundation.

The rollout of a digital platform that includes apps, edge data centers and industry command-and-control centers will need "ultra high quality data streaming capabilities through a high frequency and low latency 5G network across all our businesses," said the company in its statement.

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Adani Group has already partnered with EdgeConnex to set up a 50:50 joint venture in February 2021. That was backed by an investment of INR3.75 billion ($47 million) for setting up data centers in several cities, including Chennai, Noida, Vizag, Navi Mumbai and Hyderabad.

An alternative for the Adani Group would have been to partner with a telco to build a 5G private network for its numerous ports and airports as well as other group companies. This would probably have cost less than bidding in the 5G auction, although it would have given it less control and forced it to collaborate with an operator.

One possibility is that the company enters the consumer mobility space in the future. It could even buy an operator – ailing Vodafone Idea being the most likely candidate – to enter the telecom market.

Vodafone Idea is likely to be the operator most affected by Adani Group's move. A fourth auction participant would result in a more competitive bidding process and drive up prices, making it harder for Vodafone Idea to acquire spectrum.

— Gagandeep Kaur, contributing editor, special to Light Reading