Adani Group’s head Gautam Adani previously said the group aimed to launch 5G services for enterprises in 2023
Indian conglomerate Adani Group is requesting that the government allow it additional time for the rollout of 5G services, as the company said it had been unable to find suitable use cases for this technology, Indian press reported.
Adani Data Networks, which acquired 5G frequencies in the Indian spectrum auction carried out in August last year, has decided to approach the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) seeking additional time to meet the rollout obligations, according to the report. Those operators who secured 5G frequencies but failed to deploy 5G in certain areas by August 2023 could potentially receive fines from the government.
Telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are not currently using the 26 GHz spectrum for the provision of 5G services so far, but they are likely to do so closer to the August deadline, according to the report. Both telcos are using 5G spectrum in the 3.6 GHz band for the provision of 5G technology for the consumer services. Together, the two operators already rolled out 5G services in thousands of towns and cities across India.
Adani Data Networks, which is a subsidiary of Adani Group, had secured 400 megahertz of spectrum in the 26 GHz band. The company won 100 megahertz each in Gujarat and Mumbai and 50 megahertz each in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
The company had previously applied for a universal license in six geographic regions across India. Adani Data Networks had said it will not provide 5G services for the consumer market but will use these frequencies to deploy 5G private networks to support the conglomerate’s connectivity needs.
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Adani Group’s businesses include port management, electric power generation and transmission, renewable energy, mining, airport operations, natural gas, food processing and infrastructure. The conglomerate has operations in 50 countries.
In January, Adani Group’s head Gautam Adani said the group aimed to launch 5G services for enterprises in 2023. Addressing his employees in the New Year, the executive said the company will invest in expanding the network of data centers, building AI-ML and industrial cloud capabilities, along with rolling out 5G services and launching B2C apps.
In August 2022, Finnish vendor Nokia had reportedly started talks with Adani Data Networks to deploy private 5G using the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band.
Over 20 Indian companies have applied to secure 5G spectrum to set private networks in the country, according to previous press reports.
Some of the interested companies include Infosys, Capgemini, GMR, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Communications, Tata Power and Tejas Networks.
The companies’ applications were submitted in response to a request from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) meant to help figure out the level of market demand for spectrum to set up private networks. After assessing the demand, the Indian government will decide whether or not spectrum for such private networks should be assigned, and at what price. Currently, enterprises can lease spectrum from telcos to establish a private network.