Ambani and Adani: Asia's richest men battle to dominate 5G in India

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After seven days, India's largest auction for 5G airwaves has ended, setting the stage for a battle between two of Asia's richest men.

A total of 72 gigahertz of spectrum worth at least $54 billion was up for sale. The government received bids worth $19 billion from Reliance-Jio, Adani Data Networks, and others.

Bill Gates, the world's fourth-richest person with a net worth of over $112 billion, was displaced by a surprise bidder who controls a conglomerate with interests in airports and power.

R-Jio bought spectrum worth $11 billion, but the Adani group only spent $26 million. 70% of the 72 GHz spectrum was sold according to the minister. While R-Jio is said to have bid for pan- India airwaves, cash strappedVodafone Idea only spent on priority sectors.

Reliance Jio said that it is ready for 5G in the shortest period of time because of its nationwide fibre presence, all-ip network with no legacy infrastructure, and strong global partnerships.

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Adani Data Networks has restricted its offers to circles where it has assets. The company was interested in creating a private captive network for its infrastructure assets, but not in competing in the consumer mobility market.

Analysts think this could be the beginning of a full-fledged entry into the sector.

"We believe if the Adani Group does end up buying spectrum in the upcoming auction, it could potentially increase competition in enterprise 5G, in addition to opening the doors for the Adani Group to expand into consumer mobile services over time."

The battle-weary telecom firms which are still reeling under the tariffs launched by R-Jio's disruptive entry are understandably jittery as they contend with greater competition from yet another deep-pocketed billionaire.

It's an unexpected face-off with a rival who has so far shied away from competing with him on the same turf.

The introduction of 5G is expected to bring a new era of high-speed digital connection in India, allowing video downloads in seconds and enabling the use of advanced connected devices.

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With higher speeds on offer, Indian telecom companies, who have thus far refrained from charging differentiated prices for 4G plans, are expected to benefit from levying a premium for 5G offerings

"5G tariffs would be a key watch in the near term, and 5G premium may provide the next leg of average revenue per user uptick for the telcos," according to a note from Nomura.

Only a small percentage of India's overall smartphone base is 5G enabled, so it's likely to be slow.

Record proceeds from the auction will help shore up the government's finances at a time when India's fiscal deficit is expected to hit 6.4%

India's department of telecom will get over a billion dollars in upfront payments over the next two decades, according to analysts.

5G services are expected to start in October 2022.

Within a year or so, we should have a good roll out of 5G in the country.