5G Auction: India received bids worth Rs 1.45 trillion ($18.2 billion) on the first day of an auction for 5G airwaves, where firms led by some of Asia’s richest people, including Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, competed for the rights it decided. Who is dominating in the digital age?
Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav told reporters in New Delhi that the sale is likely to generate record revenue. The auction is expected to end on Wednesday.
The last 5G auction Details of the top bidder along with the proceeds will be revealed on Wednesday.
The minister said the ministry aims to allocate spectrum to wireless carriers by August 15 and wants to roll out ultra-speed 5G services by September or October in some Indian cities.
The sale of airwaves will be a major financial boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government as it seeks to tame inflation and rein in the fiscal deficit. Local rating company ICRA Ltd had estimated in June that sales of airwaves could rise to Rs 1.1 trillion.
meticulously examined
While Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd paid the highest pre-auction deposit, indicating that it is likely to be the most aggressive bidder, it is surprisingly entrant Adani Data Networks Ltd, whose bids are closely followed. It will be scrutinized from the U.S. as rivals try to fulfill their telecom ambitions as well. Although he said that he was only buying the airwaves to build a private 5G network.
Reliance Jio’s smaller rival Bharti Airtel Ltd, led by billionaire Sunil Mittal, and Vodafone Idea Ltd – a joint venture between Vodafone Group Plc and Kumar Mangalam Birla’s conglomerate – are the other bidders.
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The latest auction sees Adani and Ambani-led companies vying for the same property for the first time, making it an eagerly-watched contest. Adani is entering a field that Ambani disrupted in 2016 and has dominated ever since.
India has put 72 GHz airwaves on the block for a tenure of 20 years in various frequency bands ranging from 600 MHz to 26 GHz. It also eased payment terms for wireless operators as India tries to catch up with other countries, such as South Korea and China, which have had 5G networks for years.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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