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Airtel becomes world's 2nd-largest telecom operator with 650M subscribers
Airtel has 368 million mobile customers in India

Airtel becomes world's 2nd-largest telecom operator with 650M subscribers

Apr 02, 2026
04:46 pm

What's the story

Bharti Airtel has officially become the world's second-largest telecom operator, with a subscriber base of 650 million. The company has operations in India and Africa. The data was released by GSMA Intelligence, which ranks Bharti Airtel second globally in terms of mobile customer base. The company has over 368 million mobile customers in India and over 179 million customers across 14 African countries.

Corporate vision

Focus on innovation and customer experience

Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the company will continue to focus on innovation, reliability, and customer experience. He emphasized that every customer interaction is an opportunity for the company to earn trust and deliver value connection. The company's spokesperson clarified that the data was based on numbers available till March 31.

Digital expansion

Airtel's satellite broadband partnerships

Airtel is also expanding its reach to remote areas through satellite broadband partnerships. The company has partnered with Eutelsat OneWeb and SpaceX to use a constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. This will provide high-speed, low-latency broadband services to the most remote maritime, aviation, and rural areas. This move is part of Airtel's strategy to bridge the digital divide beyond its regional hubs.

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