The department of telecom on Tuesday released the list of applicants vying for 5G spectrum in 10 bands that will be auctioned on July 26.

They are: Adani Data Networks Ltd, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, Vodafone Idea Ltd and Bharti Airtel.

The department said the announcement of the names did not imply that “their applications have been processed or pre-qualified”.

Adanis head the list on the basis that they filed their application for the 5G spectrum before anyone else.

The Adani group has spooked the other telcos with its plan to offer 5G enterprise services on a private network — a service that the mobile telephony companies have been opposing for long with no success.

Analysts said the amount of earnest money deposited by the various bidders — to be released on July 20 — would give a better idea about the bidding strategy.

The Adani group, which is seeking to build its digital platform, super app and data centers said in a statement Saturday that it is participating in India’s 5G spectrum auction to provide private network solutions for its various business and will not be entering the consumer mobility space.

Jefferies said Adanis’ entry into 5G services mimics Reliance Jio’s entry in 2010. Adani could have chosen to buy a Captive Non-Public Network permit, which doesn’t allow commercial services and has no entry or license fees.

But it chose the more expensive auction route instead, signalling its future ambitions, according to Jefferies analysts Akshat Agarwal and Ankur Pant.

“Given that the Adani Group has chosen to buy spectrum through auctions, it may still be able to offer commercial services by applying for a unified access license in the future,” they wrote in a note dated July 10.

“Why would Adanis bid in auction versus awaiting a direct spectrum assignment? Adani’s entry will create uncertainty over pricing in the 5G auctions,” CLSA said.