Indian Telecoms Companies to Pay Government for 5G Sale
The deadline for companies to pay for 5G telecom spectrum by the Indian government in a recent auction is today.
The auction granted spectrum to four Indian telecommunications companies. A total of USD 19 billion total was paid to the government for the right to use certain radio frequencies to provide the country with 5G services. Reliance Jio, a company that is criticized as being favorable to Prime Minister Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party, made the largest acquisition worth USD 11 billion. Reliance Jio already controls 37 percent of the Indian mobile telecom market share, and this purchase of 5G telecom rights will grant it roughly half of all of India’s 5G spectrum.
Expect the spectrum sale to go ahead, with the first 5G services to be provided in late 2022 to early 2023. Once operational, the networks will help spur greater growth in the Indian digital economy, e-commerce, and further connect the large rural population with the rest of the country. In the long-term, the economic and technological success of India’s 5G networks could give the country greater influence over less technologically developed nations, an issue area that is already a battleground for great powers in the Pacific.
