Reliance’s 6G Power Play: How Mukesh Ambani Is Quietly Building India’s Future Telecom Empire

Mukesh D. Ambani

While most of India is still catching up with 5G, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is already two steps ahead — and planning something massive. Behind closed doors in Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru, a silent war room is being assembled. Not for today’s telecom battle, but for tomorrow’s: India’s own 6G ecosystem.

Yes, you read that right. Even before 5G has fully penetrated rural belts, Reliance Jio is laying the groundwork for a full-stack 6G offensive — one that won’t just deliver faster internet, but redefine India’s position in the global tech race. If successful, India could leapfrog developed nations and set standards instead of following them.

It all started with a series of strategic moves nobody paid much attention to. In the past 18 months, Reliance has quietly acquired over a dozen deep-tech startups — ranging from edge computing to AI networking, quantum encryption to satellite bandwidth tech. These weren’t random. Each fits perfectly into the backbone of a future-proof, indigenous 6G network that doesn’t depend on Chinese hardware, American patents, or European protocols.

At the center of this effort is Jio Platforms Ltd, which is fast transforming from a consumer internet brand into a tech R&D giant. With heavy recruitment from IITs and partnerships with Indian defense research orgs, Ambani’s ambition is clear: build 6G in India, for India, and then export it globally. And not just the towers and chips — but the standards, the software, the security, and the infrastructure.

Sources close to the company suggest the target is 2030, but prototypes may roll out as early as 2027 in selected smart city zones like GIFT City, Hyderabad, and parts of Maharashtra. The plan? Turn Jio from just another telco into India’s answer to Huawei + Ericsson + Qualcomm combined.

And here’s the twist: this isn’t just about phones and data anymore.

Jio’s 6G vision ties directly into India’s ambitions in AI, smart governance, urban infrastructure, and defense communications. We’re talking about hyperconnected cities, drone corridors, autonomous traffic systems, tele-surgery, next-gen fintech rails, and encrypted military networks — all riding on a single stack owned and operated by Reliance.

The government, for once, is aligned. Top-level sources confirm the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has greenlit policy incentives for homegrown 6G IP. It’s also working with Reliance and ISRO to ensure spectrum, satellite integration, and secure data layers are in place by the end of this decade.

Of course, the skeptics are already barking: “Too soon.” “Too risky.” “Too ambitious.” But Ambani doesn’t play to the gallery. If this works, India won’t just be a consumer of telecom technology — it’ll be a producer, patent holder, and global exporter. And Jio will go from being a telecom company to a national infrastructure backbone.

Bottom line? Mukesh Ambani is not just building a network.

He’s building India’s digital sovereignty.