In a shift of strategy, Bharti Airtel the country's largest telecom operator, is close to acquiring a 70% stake in
Bharti's costly acquisition plan is an indication of how the stakes have risen in the telecom sector in the sub-continent; the offer is almost three times the $350 million DoCoMo paid in 2008 to buy a 30% stake in Aktel or TM International, the third ranked operator in
Warid, which entered the Bangladeshi market as the sixth mobile operator in May 2007, had 2.79 million subscribers by October end, a small share of the 51-million market dominated by Telenor-led Grameenphone. In contrast, in November alone, Bharti added 2.8 million subscribers to its grow-ing subscriber base of over 115 million. Bharti commands 31.63% share of
The development reveals Bharti's ambition to become a dominant player in the Saarc region, as it already has operations in
