Bharti Airtel has change into the world’s second-largest telecom operator by buyer base, reaching 650 million customers throughout its operations in India and Africa, based on knowledge from GSMA Intelligence.

In India, Airtel serves greater than 368 million cell customers and has expanded its companies to incorporate 5G, residence broadband and digital tv. The corporate additionally supplies enterprise options equivalent to cloud companies, cybersecurity and Web of Issues (IoT) choices.

Its African arm, Airtel Africa, has over 179 million clients throughout 14 nations. A key a part of its development technique is Airtel Cash, a cell monetary platform utilized by greater than 52 million folks, geared toward bettering entry to banking companies.

Govt Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal described the achievement as a accountability to serve clients higher on daily basis.

“Reaching the milestone of 650 million clients to be the second largest operator globally is a superb accountability for us to serve our clients higher on daily basis,” Vittal mentioned. He added that the corporate would proceed investing in superior applied sciences to enhance connectivity, security and buyer expertise.

Globally, telecom subscriber rankings stay dominated by Chinese language operators, with China Cellular main with a couple of billion customers.

Inside India, Airtel continues to path Reliance Jio, which crossed 500 million subscribers final 12 months however operates solely domestically.

Latest knowledge from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India confirmed Airtel’s market share rising barely to 37.59% in February 2026, supported by sturdy subscriber additions that outpaced its foremost rival.