Almost three years after making headlines by entering India’s 5G spectrum auctions, the Adani Group is now exiting the telecom space. The conglomerate is transferring its only telecom spectrum holding to Bharti Airtel in a strategic exit deal. This move underscores the group’s struggles in finding commercial viability in the highly capital-intensive 5G sector.
Bharti Airtel and its subsidiary, Bharti Hexacom, have signed definitive agreements with Adani Data Networks, a unit of Adani Enterprises. Under this deal, Airtel will acquire 400 MHz of 26 GHz spectrum, originally intended for private 5G network deployments. The spectrum was distributed across circles including Gujarat, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
While neither Airtel nor Adani has revealed the exact financial terms, industry sources estimate the transaction value to be approximately Rs 155 crore. According to the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) spectrum trading norms, Airtel will assume all remaining government dues associated with the spectrum.
Adani Data Networks had purchased this spectrum in the July 2022 5G auction for Rs 212 crore. The company had made an upfront payment of Rs 18.9 crore and committed to paying the remainder over 20 years. The stated goal at the time was to use the spectrum for building private 5G networks supporting Adani’s enterprise operations across ports, airports, logistics, and energy sectors.
Adani had publicly denied any intention of entering the consumer telecom market. However, despite holding a unified telecom license, the company failed to initiate even basic enterprise-level 5G services.
DoT mandates that spectrum holders launch commercial services in at least one service area within each licensed telecom circle within the first year of acquisition. This requirement is designed to ensure optimal utilization of telecom assets. Despite the relatively easy-to-meet rollout benchmarks, especially in non-metro circles, Adani Data Networks failed to comply, attracting regulatory penalties.
Late in 2024, Adani had informed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) about its inability to find practical enterprise use cases with its limited spectrum. The company had planned to seek an extension from the DoT to meet its rollout obligations but did not achieve any real deployment. Analysts found it surprising that Adani could not even deploy localized 5G networks at its own airports or ports.
Despite not rolling out services, Adani continued making its annual spectrum payments. However, according to current DoT rules, spectrum cannot be surrendered for 10 years post-allocation. Therefore, the only feasible way out was spectrum trading, which is allowed after holding the spectrum for at least two years.
Airtel is expected to utilize the newly acquired 26 GHz spectrum to enhance its Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services. FWA is emerging as one of the most monetizable use cases in the Indian 5G market, especially for enterprise solutions and home broadband.
Both Airtel and Reliance Jio have been pushing FWA solutions across major Indian cities, and this spectrum acquisition gives Airtel a competitive edge in key telecom circles.
Conclusion: A Strategic Win for Airtel, a Quiet Retreat for Adani
The spectrum acquisition boosts Airtel’s efforts to lead in the 5G enterprise and broadband segments, while the Adani Group marks a silent exit from a telecom venture that never truly took off. The development highlights the challenges of commercialising 5G in India, especially for new entrants with limited spectrum and infrastructure.