Months after calling off merger talks with African telecom behemoth MTN, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal has finally pressed the pause button on his global march.

Intense competition in the local market and upcoming 3G auctions is forcing Bharti to conserve cash and refocus on the domestic market, so Bharti which till recently was on the prowl for even smaller global acquisitions  is talking local these days.

Sources say that  Bharti's unsuccessful attempt to acquire South African telco MTN may have played a large role in the company rethinking its acquisition strategy.

So for now, domestic challenges like mobile number portability and tariff war started by new entrants in the mobile business is keeping the midnight oil burning in Bharti's Delhi headquarters.

There could hardly be a more prominent signal of the hard times Indian telcos are going through than Bharti's decision to keep its global plans on hold, but cash rich telcos like Bharti have a much better chance of riding out these tough times.