The Indian wireless industry is going through a turbulent phase at the moment wherein the power of capital unleashed by R-Jio (in the form of massive network investments and free offers) is likely to test the ability of the incumbents and other operators to survive and stay relevant.
Telecom Analysts think that Airtel has the combination of factors needed, viz. balance sheet strength, execution capabilities, spectrum footprint, brand strength, etc. to come out of this phase relatively less scathed (maybe even stronger in market share terms) and benefit disproportionately from any industry structure and pricing improvement thereafter.
In a world where the winner-takes-all mindset is increasingly impacting several industries (with a radical change in business models too, in most such cases; not the case with R-Jio?s entry), there is no theoretical limit on the extent to which a player decides to stretch the ?power of capital? strategy. To that extent, while we believe industry dynamics should start improving sometime in
the next 12 months or so, we understand that at some level, we are shooting in the dark.
