Bharti Airtel has crossed 650 million customers globally, making it the world’s second-largest telecom operator by subscriber base according to GSMA Intelligence, trailing only China Mobile which serves over one billion users. The milestone was announced on 2 April, with the company’s operations spanning India and 14 African countries.
Airtel’s India business accounts for over 368 million mobile customers, supported by 13 million fixed broadband homes and 15 million digital TV subscribers. Its African subsidiary, Airtel Africa, serves 179 million customers across 14 markets, with Airtel Money — its mobile financial services platform — counting over 52 million users. In Nigeria alone, Airtel had more than 63 million subscribers as of February 2026, making it the country’s second-largest operator behind MTN Nigeria.
The 650 million figure places Airtel ahead of rivals including Reliance Jio, which operates only in India with approximately 500 million subscribers, on a global basis. Airtel’s subscriber base has grown at a compound annual rate of 2.9 per cent between FY2021 and FY2026, while its data subscriber base has expanded at 9.7 per cent annually — indicating faster growth among higher-value customers. Approximately 20 per cent of Airtel’s users remain on 2G or 3G networks, representing a significant upgrade and revenue opportunity.
Beyond connectivity, Airtel has been expanding into financial services, cloud, cybersecurity and enterprise technology, and recently announced entry into India’s Non-Banking Financial Company sector. Satellite partnerships with Eutelsat OneWeb and SpaceX provide an additional connectivity layer for remote and maritime coverage.
Editor’s Note: For MEA Tech Watch readers, the African dimension of this milestone is the material data point. Airtel Africa’s 179 million subscribers, Airtel Money’s $210 billion in quarterly processed transaction value, and the 36 per cent year-on-year TPV growth make Airtel Africa one of the continent’s largest and fastest-growing fintech operators — as significant a story as the telecom numbers. The operator’s trajectory in Nigeria, Kenya and francophone Africa will be the Africa-specific thread to watch as the group continues its digital services expansion beyond traditional connectivity.
