But it is unlikely to affect the ratings on market leaders Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) and Dialog Axiata PLC. The Hutch-Etisalat merger will create the third-largest telco and reduce the number of participants in the mobile market to four from five. It will boost its spectrum portfolio to 50MHz, higher than Dialog's mobile spectrum portfolio of 47.5MHz but the same as SLT. Hutchison-Etisalat may lose some market share in the process of integrating their operations, as it is natural when such large telcos combine. Smaller telcos have struggled to gain meaningful market share as a regulatory-mandated tariff floor on voice at Rs.

Source: Sunday Times May 01, 2018 04:30 UTC