As Adani threat fades, 5G rollout may make telecom a duopoly; Bharti Airtel top pick

Adani Group’s earnest money deposit (EMD) of just Rs 100 crore for the upcoming 5G auction later this month has managed to allay investor concerns around disrupting the consumer mobility space in the telecom industry. While Reliance Jio’s EMD of Rs 14,000 crore is significantly higher than expectations, Airtel’s Rs 5,500 crore is in line and Vodafone Idea’s EMD of Rs 2,200 crore may be more than it can chew, say analysts.

Global brokerage Nomura said 4G rollouts and the Reliance Jio launch had led to the Indian telecom industry consolidating from 12+ operators to a 3+1 market structure. “Now, with the upcoming 5G rollouts, we think Bharti and R-Jio’s market share gains could likely accelerate further at Vi’s expense and India’s telecom market could end up as a virtual duopoly. Bharti remains our preferred pick among listed Indian telcos,” it said.