5G: Adani Group to join spectrum bid; won't enter consumer mobility space

Adani Group applied to participate in the 5G auction on Friday and will compete with the likes of Reliance Group and Bharti Airtel for spectrum but for private captive networks

The Adani Group, on Saturday, confirmed that the company will participate in the government’s upcoming 5G telecom spectrum auction and plans to set up private network solutions across its operations.

The group clarified that the company does not intend to enter the consumer mobility space.

"We are participating in the 5G spectrum auction to provide private network solutions along with enhanced cyber security in the airport, ports & logistics, power generation, transmission, distribution and various manufacturing operations," the statement read.

On Friday, the Adani Group applied to participate in the spectrum auction that will witness the participation of existing telecom service providers. The auction includes the sale of airwaves in various bands, including the crucial 5G airwaves in 3.5 GHz.

The telecom service providers in the race are Reliance Jio, — part of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group, Sunil Mittal-controlled Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea Ltd.

According to the company statement, access to the spectrum will help Adani Group build digital platforms and strengthen its data centre capabilities.

“As we build our own digital platform encompassing super apps, edge data centres and industry command and control centres we will need ultra-high quality data streaming capabilities through a high frequency and low latency 5G network access across all our businesses,” the group said.

In February 2021, the group partnered with a leading data centre operator, EdgeConneX Inc, to set up a 50:50 joint venture. The partners invested Rs 375 crore in the JV company in November 2021 with an intention to develop hyper-scale data centres in Chennai, Navi Mumbai, Noida, Vizag and Hyderabad.

The statement further read that the potential spectrum award in open bidding would align with the recent announcement of the Adani Foundation to increase investments in education, science, healthcare and skill development in rural areas.

In June, the governement had decided to allot spectrum for captive private networks and had issued detailed guidelines. But Adani has decided to take the auction route to acquire spectrum.

“Adani Group has a significant play in infrastructure business on one end and consumer business on the other. Captive 5G network can well help them customise their service offerings," said Deven Choksey, managing director of KR Choksey Holdings Private Limited.

"Data centre business with cloud computing, artificial intelligence and virtual reality offerings could act as a driver for providing services to group businesses apart from connecting group customers, suppliers and other service providers on the captive network," he added.