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Battle Ready

As competition in the telecom sector intensifies, Bharti Airtel’s pricing strategy makes it a lucrative buy for the long haul

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Bled. Battered. Beleaguered. That’s how old incumbents such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea must feel as the two-year-old intense telecom battle with Mukesh Ambani-led Jio continues. The country’s richest man Mukesh Ambani’s decision to enter the telecom market for the second time, through the launch of Reliance Jio in 2016, disrupted the market brutally. Ambani loosened his purse strings and pumped $30 billion in infrastructure and optic fibre. The gambit yielded immediate results. Several players shut shop and old incumbents weakened.