Bharti Airtel has crossed the 650 million customer mark worldwide, cementing its position as the second-largest telecom operator globally. The company operates across India and Africa, with over 368 million mobile subscribers in India, including 13 million fixed broadband connections and 15 million Digital TV users. Airtel Africa serves 179 million customers across 14 countries, providing mobile, data, and mobile money services, with over 52 million users of its financial services.
In India, Airtel remains second to Reliance Jio, which has more than 500 million subscribers, though Jio’s presence is limited to India. Globally, telecom rankings are dominated by Chinese operators, with China Mobile leading at over 1 billion subscribers. With this milestone, Airtel now stands as the second-largest operator worldwide.
Executive Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal said achieving 650 million customers is both an honor and a responsibility, pledging continued focus on innovation and reliability to enhance customer experience. Airtel was the first operator to launch 5G services in India.
Analysts from Kotak Equities note that Airtel’s subscriber base grew at a compounded annual rate of 2.9% between FY21 and FY26, with data subscribers growing 9.7%, reflecting faster adoption among high-value users. With roughly 20% of its customers still on 2G/3G networks, the company sees significant growth potential, particularly in rural and mobile broadband markets.
TRAI data shows Airtel’s market share rose to 37.59% in February 2026, driven by 4.86 million new mobile subscribers in the month, well ahead of Reliance Jio’s 1.62 million additions.
