Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani to Sunil Mittal, billionaires line Up Bids for $14 Bn 5G auction
The battle for India's 5G spectrum is luring some of the country's richest tycoons, with billionaires Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and Sunil Mittal set to bid as much as $14 billion for frequency rights. How important is it? It is very critical as it could decide who dominates the digital era today and well into the future.
While Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. has paid the highest pre-auction deposit signaling it's likely to be the most aggressive bidder in the sale that starts Tuesday, it is the surprise entrant Adani Data Networks Ltd. whose bids will be closely watched as rivals try to map out its telecom ambitions. Wireless operators Bharti Airtel Ltd., led by billionaire Sunil Mittal, and Vodafone Idea Ltd. -- a joint venture between Vodafone Group Plc and Kumar Mangalam Birla's group -- are the other bidders.
The airwaves sale could raise as much as 1.1 trillion rupees ($14 billion), according to a June estimate by local rating company ICRA Ltd. The empire of Adani, who overtook Ambani as Asia's richest man earlier this year, is downplaying its foray into a new playing field for the group. It said its interest in 5G waves is about “private network solutions” and enhancing cybersecurity at the firm's airports and ports, with no intention of entering the consumer mobile space currently dominated by Ambani.
Still, the move comes as the two men increasingly tread the same ground, with Adani in particular making investments in sectors traditionally associated with Ambani, who disrupted India's telecommunications industry almost six years ago with Reliance Jio's ultra-cheap services. India is at a crucial juncture in its digital development, with many companies -- including multinationals like Amazon. com Inc and
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