SP Kochhar says no scope for more than three telcos in India

Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General SP Kochhar said that there is no scope for new entrants as the Indian telecom market is adequate for three players now.

Kochhar said, “Any industry initially begins with one or two players, then it starts expanding and multiple numbers of players come in it. After sometime consolidation starts, and then at the end, we have two or three big players or serious players. We have reached this consolidation stage right now.”

He further added that the Indian telecom market has reached its consolidation stage and thus there is no space for other operators. “Telecom is not a lucrative field as it is a highly capital intensive industry.There are no chances of exiting any one from it right now. I think the market will continue with the current set of three players. It is good enough for the Indian market.”

The Indian telecom industry was overflowed with operators including Airtel, Tata Teleservices, Aircel, Videocon, Reliance Communications, Vodafone, Idea and state-owned BSNL and MTNL, from which only Airtel, Vodafone and Idea could survive for some time. As per telecom regulatory data, Airtel has market shares to 30.35% while Vi has 23.07% and Jio has 36.58%.