Bharti, whose tie-up talks with MTN collapsed last month for a second time, denying it access to vast new markets and revenue streams, is facing strong competition at home.

Four new firms, including ventures of Telenor and Etisalat, are set to start operations this year and existing firms are scrambling to sign up users before then by drastically dropping call charges.

Bharti, which has more than 23% of India's 470 million-plus mobile subscribers, will be forced to match rivals' prices to retain its market share, but any such move would mean sacrificing revenue and earnings growth, analysts say.

"With this competitive intensity and irrational pricing in some pockets, it is possible in the short term that we could see some impact on growth," said Akhil Gupta, deputy CEO at the mobile firm's parent Bharti Enterprises. - Reuters

Crisis not over - IMF

There were encouraging signs from the US and some European economies, but the global crisis was not over and stimulus must remain in place until unemployment receded, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said on Friday.

To avoid the risk of a double-dip recession, governments must continue fiscal and monetary stimulus until unemployment peaks, which Strauss-Kahn said was likely to take 10-12 months.

While the financial part of the international crisis appeared to have ended, with little risk of further collapse among financial institutions in the near future, he said private demand for goods and services remained very weak. - Reuters

Matters of Fact

Last week in "Why broadband is expensive in SA" we used a picture of former Vodacom CEO Alan Knott-Craig, left, to accompany a story by his son, former iBurst MD Alan Knott-Craig jnr, right. We regret the error.

• In "Hitting criminals where it hurts most - the pocket" (August 23), we reported that Andrew Phillips had been charged with running a brothel, living off the proceeds of prostitution, procuring women and employing illegal immigrants. Phillips was acquitted of the charges on November 26 2008. We regret the omission.