The snag is that there are too many big telcos in the region chasing too few assets.

Batelco's pick-and-mix takeovers are symptomatic of a market where too many big telcos are chasing too few assets.

It was a natural fit, he said, because the big telcos were such huge users of technology and telecom equipment.

Pahwa and a group of like-minded friends saw an opportunity to prevent control of the internet being handed to the big telcos.