Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal today said the Indian telecom sector will see consolidation with the increase in the number of operators and the consequent erosion in profitability of the players.
He said its time for the regulator to come out with a comprehensive merger and acquisition (M&A) policy.
"Consolidation is a natural phenomenon...Bloodbath have started to happen. There is enough of it now... Market caps have come to a half. Companies are making losses after so long. There will be only few players six, seven but certainly not twelve. Its (consolidation)is inevitable," Mittal told private TV news channel during the World Economic Forum.
"When you have too much capacity consolidation needs to happen," he said.
Airtel's third quarter profits were dented saw by the intense price war.The company posted meagre 2.3 per cent growth in quarterly profits at Rs 2,210 crore.
Mittal expressed hope that the telecom regulator Trai will come up with a comprehensive Merger and Acquisition policy soon.
