Telecommunications company, Bharti Airtel, has crossed 650 million mobile subscribers globally, a milestone that positions it as the second largest telecom operator in the world by customer base.
The company disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
With operations spanning multiple countries, its network reaches over two billion people globally, including more than 179 million customers across 14 countries in Africa.
What they are saying
The company stated that crossing 650 million subscribers reflects the scale of its global operations and its ability to deliver services across multiple markets.
- “Crossing 650 million mobile subscribers worldwide, now positions the company as the second-largest telecommunications operator on the planet by customer base
- “Crossing this threshold reflects a network of immense scale, the capacity to reach customers across diverse markets with consistent quality, and the ability to deliver experiences shaped by sustained innovation,” they stated
In Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria has significantly expanded its network footprint, increasing its site count from 13,000 to nearly 17,200 within three years.
According to the company, more than 1,500 sites were added in the last year alone, aimed at improving capacity in high-demand areas and extending coverage to underserved regions.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that Nigeria had 145,141 base stations across multiple network layers as of December 2025. Of this, Airtel accounts for 46,918 in the country’s telecom infrastructure.
- The company also disclosed that it is advancing plans for its second submarine cable internet breakout point at Kwa Ibo in Akwa Ibom State, early in the 2Africa cable system rollout, to provide faster and more resilient national connectivity across regions.
Get up to speed
Nigeria’s telecom sector remains dominated by MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria, both of which continue to drive subscriber growth and revenue expansion.
- According to Nairametrics, MTN maintains market leadership with 52.31% market share, while Airtel Nigeria holds a distant second position with 33.89%.
- Both operators are also leading in revenue generation, with MTN recording N2.8 trillion in data revenue for 2025, while Airtel posted N838.6 billion within the same period, pushing combined earnings above N3.6 trillion.
- Other operators continue to trail behind, with Globacom holding 12.21% market share, while T2 remains at the bottom with just 1.59%, reflecting limited growth compared to the top two operators
What you should know
Nigeria’s telecom sector has faced persistent complaints over poor network quality, including dropped calls and slow data speeds, prompting tighter regulatory oversight.
Last week, the Nigerian Communications Commission directed telecom operators to compensate subscribers in areas where network quality falls below required standards, with affected users to receive airtime credits where operators fail to meet prescribed benchmarks.
Two years ago, the Commission introduced stricter Quality of Service regulations, setting clear performance targets across key metrics such as call success rates and network congestion, with penalties starting from about N5 million per infraction and additional daily fines for continued breaches.
