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      Adani Group to Enter Telecom Spectrum Race | Details Inside

      Gautam Adani’s group is said to be planning a entry into the race to acquire telecom spectrum, which will face it directly against Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio and Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel, as per sources.

      Applications for participating in the 26th July 2022 auction of airwaves, including those capable of providing fifth-generation or 5G telecom services such as ultra-high-speed internet connectivity, close on 8th July, 2022 with at least four applications.

      Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, the three private players in the telecom sector applied, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.

      The fourth applicant is Adani Group, one of the sources said, adding that the group had recently obtain National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licences.

      But this could not be independently confirm.

      Email and phone calls made to the Adani Group did not elicit any response.

      As per the auction timelines, ownership details of applicants are to be publish on 12th July 2022 and the bidders should be known then.

      A total of 72,097.85 MHz of spectrum worth at least Rs. 4.3 lakh crore will be put on the block during the auction, set to commence on 26th July, 2022.

      The auction will be held for spectrum in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), mid (3300 MHz), and high (26 GHz) frequency bands.

      Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, who hail from Gujarat and went on to build mega business groups, had till recently not had a direct face-off.

      While the former expand from the oil and petrochemicals business into telecom and retail, the latter diversified from the ports segment to coal, energy distribution and aviation.

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      But increasingly, their interests are overlapping, setting what some say is the stage for a clash.

      Gautam Adani has in the recent months set up a subsidiary for a foray into petrochemicals, a business that Mukesh Ambani’s father Dhirubhai began with before its downstream and upstream operations.

      Mukesh Ambani too has announce multi-billion-dollar plans for new energy business, including Giga factories for solar panels, batteries, green hydrogen and fuel cells.

      Gautam Adani, who had previously announce plans to be the world’s largest renewable energy producer by 2030, too has unveiled hydrogen ambitions.

      And now, if the Gautam Adani group participates in the 5G auction on 26th July 2022, it will be the first direct competition with Ambani.

      The Cabinet approve 5G auctions at reserve prices recommended by the sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

      The regulator had recommended an about 39% cut in floor price for the sale of 5G spectrum for mobile services.

      The validity of the right to use spectrum will be of 20 years.

      The payment terms have ease for bidders in the upcoming auction.

      For the first time ever, there is no mandatory requirement to make upfront payment by the successful bidders.

      Payments for spectrum can be made in 20 equal annual installments to be paid in advance at the beginning of each year, a relaxation that is expect to significantly ease cash flow requirements and lower the cost of doing business in this sector.

      The bidders would be given an option to surrender the spectrum after 10 years with no future liabilities with respect to balance installments.

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      No SUC (spectrum usage charges) will be levied for the spectrum acquire in this auction.

      While the 5G spectrum in nine frequency bands will be auction to telecom operators, the Notice Inviting Applications, the bid-relate document issue by the Telecom Department said tech firms will be allow to take the 5G spectrum for their captive non-public network on lease from the telecom companies.

      The bid document said direct allocation of spectrum to tech companies will follow a demand study and sector regulator TRAI’s recommendation on aspects such as pricing and modalities of such allocation.

      The decision on private networks is seen as a dampener for telcos, which had arguing that if independent entities are allow to set up private captive networks with direct 5G spectrum allotment by the telecom department, the business case of TSPs (Telecom Service Providers) will get severely degrade.

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