The nation is prepared to make a significant advancement towards the 5G future with the start of its largest-ever spectrum auction on Tuesday. Four companies will participate in the auction for a total of 72 GHz of airwaves: Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Adani Data Networks, a division of the Adani Group. They have provided the Department of Telecommunications with earnest money deposits (EMDs), a significant indicator of their intend to bid (DoT).
Reliance Jio has invested $14,000 billion, compared to $5,500 billion from Bharti Airtel, $2,200 billion from Vodafone Idea, and $100 billion from the Adani Group.
Beginning on July 26, a total of 72,097.85 MHz (72 GHz) of spectrum with a 20-year validity term will be placed up for auction. Spectrum in the frequency ranges of 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz will be up for sale.
According to a statement made by the Union Cabinet last month, “it is expected that the Mid and High band spectrum will be used by telecom service providers to roll out 5G technology-based services capable of providing speed and capacities which would be about 10 times higher than what is possible through the current 4G services.”
Indicating a company’s bidding strategy and purchasing power, the amount of EMD communicates its intention on the quantity of spectrum it desires to acquire.
An application receives eligibility points based on its EMD, which determines the amount of airwaves it may target in particular frequency bands. Analysts claim that the Adani Group might potentially purchase spectrum for Rs 700 crore based on its EMD.
Experts think the Adani conglomerate might not directly compete with the other three telecoms in the consumer 5G arena, at least not right now, given the enormous difference between their EMDs and those of the other three telcos, notably Jio. Analysts believe that the Adani Group, which has declared its intention to participate in the auction to construct private 5G networks, may challenge telecom firms in the corporate solutions market.
The Adani Group has already stated that it will only be participating in the auctions to create private networks for commercial sectors including ports, airports, and power plants, among others. The Adani Group may not be in direct competition with telcos in the consumer 5G market, according to reports from Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, and others, but the conglomerate hasn’t formally confirmed that it would only build these private networks at its own business verticals.
Entities are permitted to lease spectrum from telecommunications firms in order to establish their own private networks, in accordance with DoT regulations on the creation of 5G networks that were published last month. By potentially leasing spectrum to other firms, experts think this is one area where the Adani Group might directly compete against the other three telecom corporations. This might indicate that the Adani Group is eyeing a larger portion of the entire income pie, especially given the common belief that enterprise solutions would be the primary source of revenue for telecom firms under 5G.
