Airtel & Jio may invest $2 bn in 5G gear to boost mobile broadband
Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are likely to collectively buy another $2 billion worth of fresh 5G network gear to expand and bolster their next-gen mobile broadband coverage for a rapidly growing user base amid rising shipments of smartphones supporting next gen technology, people aware of the matter said.
Sunil Mittal-led Airtel has floated a fresh request for proposal (RFP) to kickstart its second round of 5G gear purchases, while Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio too is in discussions with global vendors, the people cited said.
«Airtel's RFP is under evaluation at the 5G vendors' end. Ericsson and Nokia will likely be the principal OEMs handling bulk of Airtel and Jio's fresh 5G base station (BTS) needs with a small chunk of the expansion deals likely going to Samsung,» one of the sources told ET.
Jio and Airtel are expected to each buy around $1 billion of 5G network gear, primarily radio base stations, multiple persons aware of the discussions said.
«We have already indicated in the past that our capex outlay will unwind from last year levels (but) as a part of normal business operations, we continue to engage with our business partners,» an Airtel spokesperson said in response to ET's queries.
Till press time, Jio, Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung had not responded to ET's queries.
Having spent top dollars in buying 5G gear in 2022, and on 5G deployments since in October the same year, the two telcos have slowed down their 5G expansion in the absence of monetization opportunities.
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