Airtel becomes world's third largest 'in-country' mobile operator

Bharti Airtel today said its subscriber base has crossed the 100 million mark, making it the world's third largest 'in-country' mobile operator.      

The milestone makes every fourth mobile phone user in the country a customer of Bharti Airtel, founded in 1995 as Bharti Tele-Ventures.      

"The Indian telecom sector is seen as providing the most affordable services in the world has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade.      

"We are proud to have led the telecom revolution that made a positive impact on the lives of people in every corner of the country as well as the Indian economy," Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal told PTI here.      

The company's equipment partners Ericsson and Nokia- Siemens and nearly 31 per cent equity partner Singtel were present on the occasion to mark the milestone.      

"This remarkable journey to 100 million customers is a testament to the vision and commitment of the company that benchmarks itself with the best in the world," Mittal said.      

Besides 25 per cent subscriber share, Bharti Airtel enjoys 30 per cent market share in terms of revenue. It's only behind two Chinese operators in terms of subscriber size measured within a country.      

Noting that it has been adding more than 3,000 base stations in a month, Mittal said for the first time, an Indian company has emerged a dominant player in the world and that too was in the telecom sector.