India's largest auction for 5G airwaves has concluded after seven days, potentially setting the stage for a battle for supremacy over India's digital future between two of Asia's richest men - Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.
A total of 72 gigahertz of spectrum worth at least $54bn (£44.5bn) in 10 bands was on the block in the auction. The government drew bids worth approx. $19bn from the three market incumbents - Ambani's Reliance-Jio (R-Jio), Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel as well as new entrant Adani Data Networks.
Adani, a surprise bidder who controls a sprawling conglomerate with interests in sectors such as ports, airports and power, recently displaced Bill Gates to become the world's fourth-richest person, with a net worth of over $112bn.
While R-Jio emerged as the largest bidder, buying spectrum worth $11bn, the Adani group spent only about $26m. Ashwini Vaishnaw, India's telecoms minister, said 71% of a total 72 GHz spectrum on offer was sold. While both Bharti Airtel and R-Jio are said to have bid for pan-India airwaves, cash-strapped Vodafone Idea spent only in priority sectors.
"Jio is fully ready for 5G rollout in the shortest period of time because of its nationwide fibre presence, all-IP network with no legacy infrastructure, indigenous 5G stack and strong global partnerships across the technology ecosystem," Reliance Jio said in a statement.
Source: BBC
