NEW DELHI—Reliance Group emerged as the biggest buyer in the Indian government’s first auction of 5G spectrum, offering about $11 billion over 20 years for the rights to airwaves as it seeks to cement its leading position in the world’s second-biggest wireless market with a rapid rollout of the technology.
The acquisition by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. of 24,740 megahertz of airwaves across multiple bands represented more than half the $19 billion of commitments received by the government after a week of bidding that ended late Monday. India is seeking to close the gap with other countries—including China and South Korea—that have already installed 5G, which is far faster than the present networks and seen as key to a new era of digitally connected industries.