The Indian telecom industry is booming. And the figures are proof of an astounding growth rate and profits. Bharati Airtel recorded 33.6% growth with 24% rise in net profit to Rs 2,516.7 crore. But it seems like the juggernaut Bharati Airtel – MTN deal has got a new hurdle. The South African Treasury announced that MTN had not sought formal approval from the country’s Reserve Bank in turn holding talks.

Till the news surfaced Bharati Airtel was banking on its cash reserves and short-term investments of Rs 6,300 crore towards the merger. The delay of the third generation (3G) spectrum auctions till next year enables Airtel to use reserves for the MTN deal. Though the talks were scheduled to end on July 31 it looks there is going to be an extension to the same due to the new hurdle.

On the other hand Vodafone India reported revenues of Rs 6,000 crore. In the three-year period the largest phone company roped in 7.7 million subscribers.

The company earned Rs 5,011 crore from voice services and Rs 175 crore from messaging services. While data services had 30% higher revenue of Rs 350 crore other services added the Rs 560 crore to the kitty. The latter figure includes revenues from Indus Towers (a JV with Bharati Airtel and Idea Cellular).

But the Idea steals the spotlight this quarter. The fifth largest telecom entity in India surprised industry experts with a 13% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 297 crore. The merger with Spice and rapid rollout in new circles has boosted the business. Plus it added a staggering 4.1 million users.

The reduction in termination call charges from 30 paise to 20 paise has effected the revenues of all Indian telecos. So the final standings are …