Vodafone India interested in consolidation

The Economic Times reports that Vodafone India has expressed an interest in taking part in market consolidation through acquisitions. Managing director and CEO of Vodafone India, Martin Pieters, commented that: ‘[Consolidation] is good for all the operators and if we can play a role in that we would be interested to play a role. We have a balance sheet that is strong enough to do it if it’s necessary.’ Pieters added that India only has room for four to six players including the two state-owned operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, there are currently twelve wireless service providers in operation in India: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications (RCOM), BSNL, MTNL, Tata TeleServices (TTSL), Aircel, Uninor, Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL), Videocon/Quadrant Televentures and Loop Mobile.