After creating waves with a surprise entry into India’s telecom space in 2022, the Adani Group has now made a swift and silent retreat. The spectrum it once bought for “captive use” will now be taken over by telecom giant Bharti Airtel. The move closes the chapter on what many thought was the beginning of a major disruption in Indian telecom.
1. Adani Sells Its Spectrum
Adani Data Networks is selling the 400 MHz of 26GHz spectrum it had acquired across key telecom circles like Gujarat, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The buyer? Bharti Airtel and its subsidiary Bharti Hexacom.
2. Rs 212 Crore Spectrum, No Commercial Use
Back in 2022, Adani spent around Rs 212 crore for these airwaves. But it never rolled out telecom services and had no intentions of competing with Jio or Airtel. Instead, the group had said the spectrum was for private use—supporting airports, power projects, and data centres.
3. Regulatory Pressure Mounts
With non-compliance of minimum rollout obligations, Adani risked penalties from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). This may have pushed the group to exit before fines and regulatory troubles kicked in.
4. Airtel Strengthens 5G Muscle
The spectrum Airtel is acquiring is in the mmWave band (26GHz)—ideal for 5G use cases like ultra-low latency, private networks, and enterprise solutions. This acquisition reinforces Airtel’s strategy of expanding 5G across industrial and high-data use environments.
5. No Vodafone Idea Play After All
While there were whispers of Adani eyeing stressed telecom firms like Vodafone Idea, those theories now seem far-fetched. The exit confirms that the group never intended to go mass-market with telecom services.
Final Word
Adani’s telecom story ends before it even truly began. While the group continues to bet big on infrastructure, energy, and data centres, its cautious retreat from telecom signals that not every bold move makes strategic sense. For Airtel, though, it’s a quiet win—and one that strengthens its 5G arsenal without a bidding war.
