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Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm, which was the top spender at India's recent $19 billion 5G spectrum auction, said the network "will enable the next generation of digital solutions that will accelerate India’s AI-driven march towards becoming a US$ 5+ trillion economy".
Jio had bought 24,740 megahertz of airwaves for INR880.78 billion ($11 billion) at Monday's auction, where 71% of a total of 72 GHz spectrum were sold to companies, according to the country's telecoms minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The auction saw Jio rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea win spectrum worth $5.4 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively.
Adani Data Networks Ltd., a unit of Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, bought airwaves across six Indian states for INR2.12 billion in its first foray into the auction.
Jio, which is India’s largest digital services provider, acquired spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 1800MHz, 3300MHz and 26GHz bands.
In a statement, Akash M Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm said, the company is set to lead India’s march into the 5G era.
"Jio is committed to offering world-class, affordable 5G and 5G-enabled services. We will provide services, platforms and solutions that will accelerate India’s digital revolution, especially in crucial sectors like education, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing and e-governance."
Jio said that it will be ready for the 5G rollout "in the shortest period of time".
(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Cleofe Maceda)
