Adani Networks Said to Have Received Licence for Telecom Services

Adani Data Network has been granted unified licence for access services, which enables it to provide all telecom services in the country, according to two official sources.

Adani Group entered the telecom sector after buying spectrum in the recent auction.

“Adani Data Networks has been granted UL (AS),” an official source said. Another official said that the permit was granted on Monday.

An e-mail query to Adani Group did not elicit any reply.

Adani Data Networks (ADNL), a unit of Adani Enterprises, acquired the right to use 400MHz of spectrum in the 26GHz millimetre wave band worth Rs. 212 crore for 20 years in the recent 5G spectrum auction.

The Adani Group had said that it plans to use the airwaves for its data centres as well as the super app it is building to support businesses from electricity distribution to airports, and gas retailing to ports.

“The newly-acquired 5G spectrum is expected to help create a unified digital platform that will accelerate the pace and scale of the Adani group’s digitisation of its core infrastructure, primary industry and B2C business portfolio,” the group had said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel has become the first telecom company to have commercially launched 5G services. Bharti Airtel’s 5G service are available in eight cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Bangalore and other cities. The company has planned to roll out 5G services in several cities across the country by March 2023 and across India by March 2024.

Reliance Jio, on the other hand, has started the beta trials of 5G services in the national capital along with three other cities — Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi — with users getting download speed of over 1Gbps. However, the services are available on the invitation-only basis. According to the company, gradually people will start getting 5G signals in the entire city in a phased manner.