New Delhi, March 7: The telecom sector in the country will see frenetic activity over the next two years with a slew of mergers and acquisitions, group and financial restructuring, and a flurry of public issues.

Bharti, Hutchison-Essar, Idea Cellular and Data Access will head the merger and acquisitions bandwagon.

“This process should result in three to five large players with a pan-Indian footprint and focus, dominating the industry,” said Sanjay Mehta, partner and head of TCE, Ernst &Young India.

At the same time, government-owned telecom majors like Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, Tata-VSNL, Idea, Reliance Infocomm and its cellular business will undergo group restructuring.

“The stage is set for the sustainable players to drive consolidation and restructure their operations and balance sheets, leading to a greater ability to invest in the growth of the telecom sector in India,” Mehta added.

Bharti, Hutchison-Essar, Idea Cellular, Reliance Infocomm, Tata and BSNL are likely to launch their public issues or go in for private equity flotation to generate the necessary resources for the purpose of acquisitions and expansion in the domestic telecom market. “There is an appetite in the market for telecom issues,” said Vikram Mehami, CEO of Idea Cellular.