Adani Group made its surprise entry into the telecom sector of India by participating in the spectrum auctions of 2022. The spectrum auction was being conducted for 5G airwaves. On the early announcement of the entry of the Adani Group, many anticipated a move like Jio. But Adani Data Networks clarified that it doesn't want to jump into the consumer business and would only focus on the B2B side of things. A few days back, Adani Data Networks, the subsidiary of Adani Group that will be engaged in the telecom business, received a full-fledged telecom license. Adani Data Networks now has the unified license (UL) to offer telecom services.
But the company has plans to focus on enterprise offerings. Adani Group already has many airports, data centres and more under its portfolio. The 5G airwaves bought in the recent spectrum auctions could be focused on enhancing the connectivity services of its own companies and then also offering the same services to other enterprises.
It is best for the Adani Group to stay away from Jio and Airtel in the consumer business with 5G for now. This is because of multiple reasons. One is the pre-established brands that all of the existing telcos enjoy. Secondly, 5G isn't going to see massive growth right away. So investing a ton of money in it would mean waiting for returns for a long time. That wouldn't have been right for the company in the long run.
Jio and Airtel don't need to worry about getting direct competition from the Adani Group in both the consumer as well as enterprise business. On the enterprise side of things, Adani Group is far behind the telcos when it comes to the products and services offered.
