Shares in India’s Bharti Airtel rose more than 10 percent this morning to their highest level in nearly three months after a leading broker upgraded the stock amid signs that call tariffs in the highly competitive Indian market are beginning to stabilise. Reuters reports that Bharti’s stock was trading 8.7 percent higher at INR305.25, after rising as much as 10.4 percent to their highest since 15 April, following Credit Suisse’s decision to upgrade Bharti to “outperform” from “neutral.” The bank said that tariffs had been stable in the last eight months and the high cost for 3G mobile spectrum had curtailed mobile operators’ ability to further fuel a price war. Rival operator Reliance Communications (R-Com) also saw its stock price rise nearly 3 percent this morning in Mumbai.

India’s three largest operators – Bharti, R-Com and Vodafone – were among the biggest spenders in the country’s recent 3G spectrum auctions, which yielded the Indian government US$14.6 billion in revenues, nearly twice what it had expected. “Revenue market shares are steady, high auction prices could force most players to avoid competitive actions and regulatory risks could be exaggerated,” Credit Suisse analysts wrote in the research report. “Reasonable valuations could protect downside and lead to a favourable risk-reward profile. We are, therefore, turning positive on the sector.” In separate news, Singapore’s SingTel said today it has bought around 1.6 million shares in Bharti Airtel on the open market for about SGP12.45 million (US$9.03 million). The purchase lifts SingTel’s stake in Bharti to 32.04 percent, up from 32.0 percent previously.