OpinionWith Huawei all but banished from India, can Mukesh Ambani’s Jio deliver on Modi’s 5G ambitions?

China-India border tensions have led New Delhi to look for alternatives to the Chinese telco, and Jio, run by India’s richest man, has stepped in

If Jio succeeds, it could contest Huawei’s efforts to export 5G to developing economies worldwide, opening up a new area of Sino-Indian competition

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Jio’s market strategy made full use of Modi’s nationalist economic policies, but was also able to leverage the Western boycott of Huawei to its advantage. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:46pm, 27 Sep 2021Updated: 7:46pm, 27 Sep 2021

During his recent visit to the United States, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the chief executive of Qualcomm, the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer, to discuss a potential investment in India’s 5G infrastructure – a pitch to a major Western telecoms firm that starkly contrasts with New Delhi’s policies vis-à-vis Huawei.

In the past year, the Modi administration has practically banned the Chinese telecommunications giant from participating in India’s 5G network, with Huawei’s fortunes in that market closely following the twists and turns of the larger dynamic of Sino-Indian relations.

Though the Trump administration had started targeting Huawei in early 2019, citing cybersecurity concerns, the Modi government kept the doors open for the company.

India’s decision to engage Huawei was driven by several reasons. Since the early 1990s, economic interdependence had emerged as a major element of stability in Sino-Indian ties. India’s huge market provided New Delhi with some influence over Beijing’s policies. Not without reason, therefore, the Chinese foreign ministry had warned India of “reverse sanctions” if Huawei was excluded from the 5G network trials.

In addition, Huawei provided not only the cheapest but also the best technological solutions for India’s 5G roll-out. Western alternatives such as Ericsson and Samsung were both costly and unproven, while indigenous solutions were hardly available.