With its 1.2 billion subscribers, India's telecoms market is the second biggest in the world (China 1.32 billion). Despite the phenomenal economies of scale that telcos are able to leverage in the country, India remains one of the hardest markets for operators to turn a profit.
A protracted price war between the country's key players, instigated by industry disruptor Reliance Jio has left India with some of the lowest data prices per Gb anywhere in the world. As a result, telcos are being forced to trade on wafer thin margins, with many content to weather the storm any way they can. The forthcoming merger between Vodafone and Idea Cellular is a classic illustration of telcos trying to consolidate their positions in a viciously competitive marketplace…read more on TotalTele.com »