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"Bharti and Vodafone India Limited are stepping up their 4G capex spending ahead of the 4G launch of Reliance Jio," Dhruv said.

Moody's expect Bharti's adjusted capex to revenue ratio to peak to about 40 per cent in 2015 from 28.4 per cent in 2014, and then to decline to a more normalized level of around 24 per cent-25 per cent in 2016.

"Reliance Communications capex will decline once its network-sharing agreements with Reliance Jio start kicking in by mid-2016," Dhruv said.

The pressure will also be on the government, which will have to create a mechanism to ensure flow of investment in the sector for job creation and connecting unconnected in remote parts of the country and lower rung of the society without compromising on consumer's interest.

The issue of net neutrality is also likely to keep the government and regulator Trai busy with the formation of a policy framework. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has already come out with a consultation paper on differential pricing for data.

Telecom operators fear losing a major chunk of voice revenue due to calls made through internet and had sought similar regulatory framework for calls made through over-the-top players like Whatsapp and Skype.

The Indian government has supported net neutrality in principle and is expected to take a final view on the issue post Trai's recommendations, Ernst & Young India, Partner - Telecom practice Amit Sachdeva said.

In absence of good margins and competitive pressure, telecom sector has begun looking at spectrum sharing and trading.

"Spectrum sharing and trading guidelines are crucial for India's mobile sector growth but unfortunately had been delayed for years. It was announced this year by the current government and immediately one or two spectrum trading and sharing deals have resulted which are a big win-win for all," Broadband India Forum President TV Ramachandran said.

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Source: PTI