The big-bang launch announcement by Reliance Jio saw the stock of Bharti Airtel fall 6 per cent on Thursday. The stock was down 7.3 per cent over the week.

Airtel, the largest player in the Indian telecom market with a customer base of 25.57 crore, while on the backfoot now, is likely to provide stiff competition to Jio. For one, Airtel has a pan-India spectrum presence. Also, it has been taking steps to counter the price competition that was coming from Relaince Jio. Under a special scheme, Airtel recently cut its mobile data charges by 80 per cent to about ₹51 per GB. Earlier in July, the company offered up to 67 per cent more data under its 3G and 4G plans. That said, there may be pressure on the company’s realisations, especially on the voice revenue.

The October 2016 spectrum auctions are also likely to stretch the balance sheets of incumbent telecom service providers, including Airtel, that seek to buy spectrum.

comment COMMENT NOW