For years they tiptoed around each other but now the groups led by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani will for the first time be in direct competition when they later this month participate in the auction of airwaves capable of providing fifth generation or 5G telecom services.

But the rivalry between the two politically well-connected Gujarati businessmen will not yet see a full-blown market clash despite overlaps. On Saturday, Adani group confirmed plans to participate in the July 26 5G spectrum auction, but said the airwaves it was seeking was to set up a private network to help digitise its businesses from airports to energy to data centres. This meant no entry into the consumer mobile telephony space, where Ambani’s Reliance Jio is the largest player.