Daybreak How are companies with no spectrum winning India's 5G game?
8 snips
Mar 23, 2026 A look at companies building shared indoor 5G networks without spectrum or licences. How landlords, neutral hosts and big investors are reshaping who controls connectivity inside airports, metros and malls. The legal and regulatory tussles over access and fees are heating up. Real-world fights on metros and in courts reveal a shifting balance of power in India's telecom landscape.
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Signal Blackout At Navi Mumbai Airport
- Passengers at the new Navi Mumbai International Airport experienced a full network dead zone despite extensive 5G hardware being installed.
- Adani Airport Holdings had built a shared indoor network and asked telcos to pay ₹92 lakh/month, which Airtel and Vodafone Idea refused.
Why 5G Makes Indoor Infrastructure Critical
- 5G's higher frequencies carry more data but are physically weak, so indoor coverage needs dozens of antennas and expensive infrastructure.
- Neutral hosts build shared indoor networks, own no spectrum or licence, and charge operators to plug in, shifting control away from telcos.
Neutral Hosts Attract Big Money And Scale Fast
- Neutral hosts like IBIS Networks and Cloud Exitel build and manage shared indoor wireless infrastructure across airports, malls and offices and have seen rapid revenue growth.
- NIIF and IFC invested hundreds of millions into IBIS, signaling government-aligned capital backing the neutral-host model.