Reliance Jio, RCom eye a spectrum deal, Anil grateful to Mukesh Ambani

Mumbai: Terming it as a “virtual consolidation” in the highly-competitive Indian telecom space, Mr Anil Ambani on Wednesday said that his group firm RCom is tying up with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio for ‘trading and sharing’ of spectrum, including for the much-awaited 4G services.

Addressing shareholders at the annual general body meeting, RCom chairman also said that he was “grateful” to his elder brother for “unstinted support and guidance”. The two brothers have begun collaborating with each other in certain businesses over the past few years, after a long period of cut-throat rivalry following a much-publicised split of 2005 of the erstwhile Reliance empire founded by their father late Dhirubhai Ambani.

“This strategic cooperation and partnership between RJio and RCom is a virtual consolidation in the telecom sector and I am grateful to my elder brother Mukesh bhai for unstinted support and guidance,” Mr Ambani said.

He added that both the companies are at “an advance stage of discussion” for finalising a nationwide trading and sharing arrangement, which will be followed up with reciprocal arrangements between Reliance Jio and RCom for letting customers roam on each others’ networks. “I believe this will be a true game-changer for the sector and we will see benefits in coming years,” he said.