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India remains one of the most competitive telecoms markets in the world
The Indian government has set up an independent think tank of beaurocrats and businessmen to formulate strategies for boosting revenues in the country’s beleaguered telecoms sector, according to a report by Reuters.
India remains one of the most bitterly competitive markets for telcos, as operators struggle to balance the dual strains of high capital investment demands with wafer thin profit margins.
At a recent event in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Bharti Airtel’s CEO Gopal Vitall said that “the cost of doing business for telcos in India has to come down”.
Operators have been engaged in a brutal price war since Reliance Jio launched its range of ultra low cost data tariffs and handsets in 2016, effectively kickstarting India’s digital revolution.
A recent decision by India’s Supreme Court to charge operators an additional $13 billion for their spectrum licences has compounded the problem, as operators look set to run out of cash.
The new think tank will be tasked with devising revenue boosting strategies for India’s network operators, as well as looking at ways that the Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India could do more to nurture conducive conditions for investment.
