Billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani have joined the raft of players expected to bid as much as $14 billion for frequency rights that could decide who dominates the digital era.
While Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. has paid the highest pre-auction deposit signalling to be the most aggressive bidder in the sale, surprise entrant Adani Data Networks Ltd.’s bids will be closely watched as well.
Adani Data paid only Rs 1 billion as a deposit for the auction, which is widely viewed as a key indicator of the level of interest by a bidder. Reliance Jio deposited 140 billion rupees, considerably higher than Bharti Airtel’s 55 billion rupees and Vodafone Idea’s 22 billion rupees.
Adani Data’s small deposit was in line with its announcement to create only a private 5G network and not become a full-fledged wireless operator. India has also allowed firms to pay in 20 equal installments with no upfront payment as it tries to catch up with other countries, such as South Korea and China, that have had 5G networks for years.
The auctions will be a financial boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which is trying to tame inflation and rein in the fiscal deficit. The South Asian nation plans to sell 72 gigahertz of airwaves for a 20-year tenure in various frequency bands ranging from 600 megahertz to 26 gigahertz.
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