The world’s two most populous countries, India and China, are both opening up their mobile markets, relaxing the limits on MVNOs and granting new licences – even as there is consolidation in the face of rising competition and price wars. In India’s case, this is likely to see the disappearance of several tier two brands, and potentially the merger of the two state-run telcos, BSNL and MTNL. In China, the three state-controlled operators are increasingly sharing infrastructure, and there have been rumors that the two smaller ones, China Unicom and China Telecom, might merge entirely. Despite that, the government has just awarded a fourth telecoms licence. This has gone to China Broadcasting Network (CBN), a cable operator, which now has…