Most deals in the last one year, according to the report, have seen the equity value per subscriber range from $2000 to $3000, which matches the average Asian value of $2,160 for such deals. The only exception being Batata which picked up a 51 stake of RPG Cellular in Madhya Pradesh, said Jardine Fleming in an in-depth analysis of the sector.

"We suspect the figure of $6000 per subscriber is on the higher side because of RPG's lower subscriber base of 20,000 at the time of the deal in August 2000," Jardine Fleming's report says.

The report adds that at least three Indian cellular companies have begun preparations for Initial Public Offers (IPO) in the next few months. The investment banker indicated that these firms could be BPL, Hutchison and Bharti. BPL and Hutchison are expected to come out with $200 million American Depository Receipts (ADR) each, making them serious players in the Indian cellular market.

However, the report cast a shadow on the plans of Reliance group in the cellular sector. "Given its size and ambitions, the group has surprisingly kept away from any acquisition till date. Further, the roll-out in its licensed fixed and cellular circles has not been aggressive yet," it noted.The report classified the existing cellular players as `omnivores', who are setting up integrated telecom networks aiming to provide wide range of services and `herbivores', who are operators focused on cellular services.

While BPL, Bharti, Batata, Reliance, BSNL and MTNL have been classifed as `omnivores', Hutchison, Modicom Spice, Escotel, Koshika, Aircell Digilink, Aircell, RPG Cellular, Hexacom and evergrowth have been placed under the category of `herbivores'.

Jardine Fleming said omnivores would be in a stronger position as their integrated approach would enable them to provide subscribers with a comprehensive suite of telecom services at competitive prices. "Amongst the herbivores, only the financially strong and customer-oriented with lucrative circles and deep pockets are likely to survive", it said.

Bharti is clearly the most aggressive `omnivore' to date, with BPL emerging as another formidable player. Both MTNL and BSNL (erstwhile Department of Telecom Services) are amongst the weakest players as their infrastructure advantage is diluted significantly by incumbent handicaps. Among the herbivores, Hutchison dominates the scene.

Analysing major players in the sector, the investment banker said BPL would emerge as the formidable player in the Indian market place. Its strategy to become an integrated player through lower costs, optical network design and common branding would place it in advantageous position.

Bharti's plan to tie-up with Singapore Telecom to lay optical fibre cable between India and Singapore for ISP connectivity would provide a platform for the company to enter ISD services as and when the sector is opened up and the company is poised to emerge as the most integrated telecom service provider in India.