Cancelled telecom licenses: Impact on consumers, economy

New Delhi: India is the world's second-largest telecom market in terms of subscribers - it has 900 million subscribers. So far, the telecom sector has been crowded with more than a dozen players. Call rates in India among the lowest in the world.

Now that the Supreme Court has cancelled 122 licenses, here is a quick look at the likely impact.

EFFECT ON TELECOM SECTOR
Verdict to shake up India's fragmented telecom market
To lead to consolidation in the telecom sector
Non-serious, weak players will be weeded out
Spectrum to be linked to market prices and auctioned
Established players like Bharti, Vodafone, and Idea to benefit
Policy uncertainty for the telecom sector as the judgement is studied and evaluated

EFFECT ON CONSUMERS
Telecom rates to go up in long run as spectrum will be auctioned

EFFECT ON ECONOMY
Auction of spectrum will lead to another financial windfall for government
2G telecom auction may help plug government's fiscal deficit
May further dampen business climate and investor sentiment
Bad news for foreign investors in telecom, may further impact FDI