Bharti Airtel hits 650 million users, becomes world’s 2nd-largest telecom operator
Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced that it has reached a major milestone of 650 million customers globally, making it the second-largest telecom operator in the world by subscriber base.
The telecom company, led by Sunil Bharti Mittal, has built a strong presence across India and Africa. In India alone, Airtel has over 368 million mobile users, , according to data from GSMA Intelligence.
This includes 13 million homes connected through fixed broadband and 15 million customers using its Digital TV services.
In Africa, its subsidiary Airtel Africa serves 179 million customers across 14 countries. The company offers high-speed data, voice services, and mobile money solutions in the region, with over 52 million users relying on its financial services platform.
Despite this global achievement, Airtel continues to be the second-largest telecom operator in India, behind Reliance Jio, which crossed 500 million subscribers last year but operates only within the country.
Reacting to the milestone, Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Airtel, said reaching 650 million customers is a big responsibility and the company will continue to focus on improving customer experience through innovation and reliable services.
He added that Airtel aims to set higher standards in the telecom industry.
The company has also been at the forefront of technological advancements, becoming one of the first to roll out 5G services in India.
According to a report by Kotak Equities, Airtel’s subscriber base has been growing at a steady pace, with a compounded annual growth rate of 2.9 per cent between FY21 and FY26.
More importantly, its data subscriber base has grown faster at 9.7 per cent, indicating a rise in higher-value customers.
The report also highlighted that there is still significant room for growth, especially in rural areas and mobile broadband.
It noted that nearly 20 per cent of Airtel’s users are still on 2G and 3G networks, which presents an opportunity for the company to upgrade customers to faster and more premium services.
