Interest in the Indian telecom market is clearly on the rise
Reports are that weeks after Facebook acquired a 9.9% stake in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms, Google is considering buying a stake of about 5% in Vodafone Idea, the second largest telecom operator in India. Another report has it that Microsoft is in talks to invest up to $2 billion in Reliance Jio Platforms.
Google has also reportedly held talks with Reliance Jio Platforms, which has raised $10.3 billion in the last couple of weeks from Facebook and U.S. privacy equity firms Silver Lake, KKR, General Atlantic and Vista.
The three and a half year old Reliance Jio Platforms has grown into one of the top telecom operators in India with more than 388 million subscribers.
In the last decade, Facebook and Google have launched connectivity efforts in India to bring more people online. While Facebook maintains Express Wi-Fi, in India, Google discontinued a project that allowed millions of Indians to access mobile internet for free at more than 400 railway stations earlier this year.
With more than 600 million users, India is the world’s second largest internet market.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said last month that the company would work with Jio Platforms to help small merchants and businesses come online.
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