The new head of India’s GSM lobby group Coalition of Cellular Operators Association (COAI), TR Dua, is urging the government to amend existing M&A regulations to pave the wave for much-needed operator consolidation.

 

India is in the midst of a damaging mobile price war.

 

The price war has been raging since June, when Tata Teleservices (TTSL) launched the country’s first per-second billing option. 

 

The tariff battle has left the country’s operators – there are now some 12-14 cellcos per circle following the recent launch of several new GSM1800 operators – struggling for profits.

 

“We need a progressive mergers and acquisition policy that doesn’t present barriers to consolidation,” Dua said in an interview in New Delhi. “The market now is hyper competitive.

 

“There should be only about four, at best five players competing [in a given circle], as is the case in any developed industry.”

 

Dua said India is likely to see domestic consolidation this year if the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) relaxes M&A norms, especially one mandating that no two mobile operators merge until three years after their spectrum licenses expire.