The government’s decision to take an equity stake in Vodafone Idea in lieu of the interest it owed on spectrum and other liabilities may only be a temporary reprieve amid rising concentration in the telecommunications sector.
India’s third-largest telecom service provider has seen its market share drop by 7.6 percentage points since the beginning of the pandemic. The top two now account for 69 per cent of the market. The subscription figures for every month reveal a slow shift away from the third-largest player as well as others including public sector telecom provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL). Both Vodafone and