Lack of Commercial Use Cases Made Spectrum Deployment Financially Untenable for Adani: Report

Adani Data Networks, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has agreed to sell its entire 26 GHz spectrum holdings to Bharti Airtel and its unit Bharti Hexacom, marking a strategic retreat from direct participation in India’s telecom sector. The deal, announced Tuesday, if approved, transfers 400 MHz of millimetre wave spectrum to Airtel, effectively ending Adani’s plans to build private 5G networks.

• Make Telecom Talk My Trusted Source
• 
• 

Also Read: 5G Spectrum Auction: Spectrum Acquisitions of Adani Data Networks

Initial Foray into 5G Spectrum

The move comes nearly three years after Adani Group jolted the industry by entering the 2022 5G spectrum auctions. It had acquired 100 MHz each in Gujarat and Mumbai, and 50 MHz each in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, for a total of Rs 212 crore. The spectrum was intended for captive private networks across Adani’s ports, airports, logistics hubs, and power assets.

Building Private Networks

However, according to the report, industry analysts say that telecom was never a core focus for the Adani Group. The operational and regulatory complexities of building and managing private networks—especially for a non-telecom entity—made the venture commercially unviable.

Also Read: Airtel to Acquire 400 MHz Spectrum in 26 GHz Band From Adani Data Networks

Analyst Perspectives on the Exit

“Adani brought spectrum for captive 5G private network for industrial use cases across ports, mining, etc. However, it is not easy for non-telecom operators to deploy and maintain private networks, as it requires specific technology capabilities. Thus, with spectrum not being used and penalties related to rollout obligations, it made sense for Adani to sell its spectrum to Airtel,” Ashwinder Sethi, partner at Analysys Mason, was quoted as saying in a Moneycontrol report.