India's new telecom minister, Kapil Sibal, has revealed he will explore regulatory changes aimed at aiding consolidation of India's increasingly crowded mobile market.
Based on concerns over whether 14 mobile operators can survive, and current tariff levels are sustainable, Sibal said he will review “all aspects [for] facilitating M&As,” the Economic Timesreported.
He cautioned that without consolidation, the industry may be unable to sustain the current ultra-low tariffs set as a result of the intense competition.
The market caps of many mobile companies have shrank considerably as a result of the ongoing price-war, he added.
Sibal said he was not convinced that spectrum allocation through an auction process –the format India followed during the recent 3G auction – was the best way to award licenses in India's crowded market.