Telecom industry’s move towards oligopoly to impact tower companies: Report

The telecom industry’s move towards oligopoly will potentially impact telecom tower companies through factors like tenancy losses, a report said Tuesday.

The number of telecom operators has now reduced to about five from a peak of 15 in 2012, the report by domestic rating agency Crisil’s research arm said.

“The telecom sector moving towards an oligopolistic structure, with three players accounting for more than 90 per cent market share, will pose challenges for towercos,” it said.

It said the merger of Vodafone and Idea Cellular to create the largest entity by subscribers alone has resulted in over 57,000 tenancy losses for the towers industry as the combined entity consolidated its network.