Adani may join the telecom spectrum race

• Image Credit: Internet

• Jul 9, 2022 | Dhupali Das

The four participants would initially have to submit ownership information by July 12 and then a certificate of bidder-ownership compliance.

Digital Desk: The Adani group is reportedly one of the four companies that expressed interest in the government's scheduled telecom spectrum auction. The move would increase the company's position in a market where well-established companies like Reliance Jio, a division of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group, Bharti Airtel, owned by Sunil Mittal, and Vodafone Idea Ltd.   

The telecom department's coveted 5G band required for high-speed internet connectivity is up for auction.

The Adani Group was interested in entering the telecom industry, sources quoted. Requests for comment from a group representative went unanswered.

The four participants would initially have to submit ownership information by July 12 and then a certificate of bidder-ownership compliance. Pre-qualification of bidders will take place after that. Companies will have the option to withdraw their auction applications by July 19, and the following day, bidders will be notified. On July 27, the auction is anticipated to start.

Experts have differing opinions regarding the potential approach of the Gautam Adani-led Adani group. Some claim that it is spending a lot of money on data centers to grow into an enterprise company. It has partnered with the worldwide business EdgeConnex to create and run sizable data centers in Chennai, Navi Mumbai, Noida, Vizag, and Hyderabad.

Adani's enterprise data business would face competition from domestic telecom providers and global internet behemoths like Google and Amazon. Purchasing a modest amount of millimeter band spectrum would be a wise decision because it offers fast speed and is reasonably priced. This spectrum should be supported by a small amount of 3.5 GHz band bandwidth.

According to other experts, the Adani group may have plans to launch 5G services and compete with well-established companies before potentially acquiring or partnering with an existing operator.

Sources claimed that Adani was the fourth applicant in the telecom auction and had been granted National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licenses.