Ericsson's share price was up slightly by 0.12 Swedish kronor (0.43%) to SEK27.84 (US$4.18) in midday trading on the Stockholm exchange. Bharti’s share price on India's National Stock Exchange rose as much as 3.57 percent to 895.5 Indian rupees before closing at INR884.7 (US$21.99).

    Lindberg believes that "an order of this magnitude certainly has tactical ramifications" for Bharti's rivals. "It could help BSNL -- the state owned carrier is at risk at being relegated into the second tier -- to sharpen its mind. Its subscriber growth has come to a sudden halt." BSNL's network expansion has been caught up in wrangling over costs with India's new telecom minister, and the carrier is likely to reduce the size of its contracts. (See BSNL Expansion Delayed Yet Again.)

    Lindberg continues: "Itillustrates one of our salient points. So long as free competition persists, operators will have no choice but to invest in continuous capacity additions and quality enhancements. Those that choose to procrastinate will inevitably face customer defections and market share losses."

    Bharti led mobile growth in India during June, adding 1.96 million new subscribers to take its subscriber base to 42.7 million.