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AGR verdict: Jio emerges winner as Airtel, Voda Idea face $7 billion bill

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered phone operators in the country to pay the government a combined Rs 920 billion in past airwaves and license fees

Reliance Jio
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P R Sanjai | Bloomberg
In the latest body blow to India’s wireless carriers, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has come out largely unscathed, bolstering its position as the top operator in the world’s second-biggest market by users.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered phone operators in the country to pay the government a combined Rs 920 billion ($13 billion) in past airwaves and license fees. The ruling came after a two-decades-old legal dispute between authorities and the companies over the payments.

In a market already bruised by a price war since Jio’s 2016 entry with free calls and cheap data, the biggest loser from the verdict is