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Tag: Bharti Airtel

  • India Telecom Base Hits 1.35 Billion as 5G Fixed Wireless Expands

    India Telecom Base Hits 1.35 Billion as 5G Fixed Wireless Expands

    India’s total telephone subscriber base expanded by 6.20 million connections in July 2026 to reach 1.35 billion, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

    Monthly growth of 0.46 per cent lifted overall wireless subscriptions to 1.31 billion, while wireline connections ticked up 0.39 per cent to 48.01 million. National wireless tele-density crossed a key threshold, rising from 89.71 per cent in June to 90.04 per cent. Urban mobile connections climbed 0.57 per cent during the month, outpacing rural mobile subscriber growth of 0.24 per cent.

    Concentration in broadband access

    Broadband lines reached 1.094 billion at the end of July, up from 1.09 billion in June. Mobile wireless remains the primary access route for consumers, representing 1.03 billion connections after growing 0.59 per cent. Fixed wired lines rose 0.90 per cent to 48.14 million.

    Five operators control 98.59 per cent of the broadband market. Reliance Jio retained the lead with 535.12 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel at 384.23 million. Vodafone Idea held third place with 129.96 million users, while state-run BSNL and Atria Convergence Technologies followed with 27.28 million and 2.47 million connections, respectively.

    Rural adoption of 5G fixed wireless

    Fixed wireless access outpaced traditional connectivity categories, climbing 2.60 per cent month-on-month to 18.84 million lines. Within that segment, 5G-based fixed wireless subscriptions reached 13.21 million, up from 12.94 million in June after adding 272,820 connections.

    Rural households accounted for 50.31 per cent of all 5G fixed wireless connections, slightly ahead of the 49.69 per cent recorded across urban centers. The split indicates that operators are relying on wireless broadband to bypass physical fiber bottlenecks outside major metropolitan areas.

    Subscriber switching remained high across the country, with 15.98 million users submitting mobile number portability requests in July. Uttar Pradesh East generated the highest churn volume with 2.29 million porting requests, followed by Uttar Pradesh West at 1.55 million.

  • Bharti Airtel Launches Exciting ‘Airtel Cloud’ in Collaboration with Singtel, Globe, and Airtel Africa

    Bharti Airtel Launches Exciting ‘Airtel Cloud’ in Collaboration with Singtel, Globe, and Airtel Africa

    Bharti Airtel has unveiled an innovative AI-powered cloud and software platform for enterprises, launching it through its wholly owned subsidiary, Xtelify. The platform, named ‘Airtel Cloud,’ is poised to accelerate digital transformation for Indian businesses and global telecom operators, delivering robust security, scalability, and intelligence on a large scale. In a marketplace where digital prowess is the new currency, Airtel has positioned itself as a formidable player.

    Transforming Airtel’s Offerings for the Global Market

    Xtelify represents a pivotal shift for Airtel, as the company expands its in-house digital platforms—which have previously supported its large-scale operations—into external markets. The Airtel Cloud platform is accessible to enterprises throughout India, capable of processing a staggering 140 crore transactions per minute. Backed by a team of 300 certified cloud experts, the platform is housed in next-generation sustainable data centers and utilizes generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for provisioning. Its services include infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and advanced connectivity, with secure migration and zero vendor lock-in being standout features.

    A Vision for Secure Digital Growth

    Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, expressed enthusiasm for this development, stating, “Within Airtel, we have been actively harnessing digital innovations at unmatched scale to transform our services and enhance customer experience for many years. This involves powering over 590 million customer touchpoints and addressing some of the most intricate telecom challenges globally. All our applications run at a competitive cost on Airtel Cloud. Today, we’re excited to extend our telco-grade, sovereign-cloud platform, enabling Indian businesses to innovate faster, scale smarter, and remain secure in an ever-evolving digital landscape.” Vittal assured that all cloud controls will remain strictly within India, eliminating any risk of external access to sensitive data.

    Empowering Telecom Operations with AI

    Xtelify has also launched an AI-driven software suite designed to optimize telecom operations and enhance customer journeys, ultimately improving average revenue per user (ARPU). This comprehensive suite includes Xtelify Work for real-time workforce management, Xtelify Data Engine for operational intelligence, Xtelify IQ for customer experience analytics, and Xtelify Serve for personalized engagement and resolution. It’s as if the future of telecom is knocking on the door, demanding an innovative response.

    International Collaborations Amplify Global Reach

    In a noteworthy international initiative, Xtelify has formed partnerships with Singtel, Globe Telecom, and Airtel Africa. These agreements are set to implement various aspects of Xtelify’s offerings across multiple operations. Singtel will harness Xtelify Work for increased frontline efficiency, Globe Telecom plans to utilize Xtelify Serve to enhance customer service, and Airtel Africa will incorporate Xtelify Data Engine, Work, and IQ into its operations.

    Ng Tian Chong, CEO of Singtel Singapore, articulated the platform’s benefits, stating, “We are constantly seeking ways to better equip our field engineers to provide exceptional customer experiences. This platform allows us to reimagine our workflows with AI at the core, leading to improved efficiency and customer service.” The emphasis on optimizing dispatch and resource management not only expedites engineer response times but also contributes to lowering the carbon footprint—a win-win in today’s eco-conscious world.

    Jacques Barkhuizen, Group CIO of Airtel Africa, noted the transformative potential of this partnership, highlighting how it will enhance digital progress and uplift millions across Africa. Globe Telecom’s president and CEO, Carl Cruz, echoed this sentiment, explaining that integrating Xtelify’s AI-driven Case Management Platform reinforces their commitment to exceptional service from the initial customer contact to resolution. “We are proud to collaborate with Airtel and Xtelify,” Cruz added, “as we aim to elevate global customer experience standards.”

    Questions & Answers

    What is Airtel Cloud and what does it offer to enterprises?
    Airtel Cloud is an AI-powered cloud and software platform designed to facilitate digital transformation for Indian businesses and global telecom operators. It provides infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and advanced connectivity while ensuring secure migration and zero vendor lock-in.

    How does Xtelify enhance telecom operations?
    Xtelify’s AI-driven suite optimizes telecom operations by improving workforce management, operational intelligence, customer experience analytics, and personalized engagement, ultimately boosting average revenue per user (ARPU).

    What international partnerships has Xtelify established?
    Xtelify has formed significant partnerships with Singtel, Globe Telecom, and Airtel Africa, enabling various implementations of Xtelify’s offerings to enhance operational efficiency and customer service across these companies.

  • Ericsson and Bharti Airtel Extend Partnership

    Ericsson and Bharti Airtel Extend Partnership

    Under the new agreement, Ericsson will implement centralized RAN and Open RAN-ready solutions to transform the network, providing customers with broader coverage and increased capacity. Additionally, Ericsson will upgrade the software of its existing 4G radios to enhance the overall customer experience.-

    Randeep Sekhon, CTO of Bharti Airtel, stated, “The strategic partnership with Ericsson to deploy the latest technology demonstrates Airtel’s commitment to network excellence. This deployment will help us improve the speed, reliability, and coverage of our network, ensuring an exceptional experience for our customers.”

    Andres Vicente, Head of Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India, commented, “This extension of our partnership reflects our joint goal to establish a strong 4G and 5G infrastructure for Bharti Airtel to meet the connectivity needs of its customer base, including emerging 5G use cases. We will collaborate closely with Bharti Airtel to deliver excellent user experiences for their customers.”

    As a global leader in 5G technology, Ericsson currently supports 170 operational 5G networks in over 70 countries. Ericsson’s technological expertise has been acknowledged by independent analysts, such as Frost Radar™ 5G Network Infrastructure Market 2024, where Ericsson has been ranked as the top performer for the fourth consecutive year.

    Moreover, Ericsson has maintained its position as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for 5G for the fourth year running. Having been a trusted connectivity partner for Airtel for more than 25 years, Ericsson has supported every generation of mobile communications. This strategic partnership underscores the shared commitment of Ericsson and Airtel in developing an advanced digital ecosystem in India.

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  • Bharti Airtel meets growing data consumption with new independent fiber company

    Bharti Airtel meets growing data consumption with new independent fiber company

    The owner of the telecom company, Sunil Bharti Mittal, announced the appointment of Savargaonkar and acknowledged his new role. Savargaonkar was previously the company’s director of networks, equivalent to chief technology officer, and today, he will continue to report to Gopal Vittal, Bharti Airtel’s CEO.

    “Given the significant growth in data consumption in recent years, we believe a robust and independent infrastructure company that serves the growing need of fiber in the telecom industry is critical,” Vittal announced.

    Bharti Airtel is about to transfer its fiber optic cable network to a wholly-owned subsidiary, Telesonic Networks Ltd, through low sales. The company manages 246,000 km of fiber optics, which is aggressively rising to meet increasing data growth. “Fiber assets from Telesonic may eventually be transferred to this new subsidiary,” a source commented.

    Not surprisingly, Nitin Soni, director, Asian corporates, at Fitch Ratings, found that it was of common sense to have an independent company that owns fiber since Airtel had previously formed a telecom tower joint venture – Indus Towers – with Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.

    “There is no point of duplication on capex spending like tower infrastructure. India is one of those countries where price competitiveness is so high that most telcos are taking the rational decision to make independent companies,” he said.

    But in order to become a true independent company, Airtel would have to well play its cards and sell a majority stake. This way, it will attract other players to use the assets, not so far of what it’s doing with its tower business, Soni said.

    “If you keep having stake, it won’t be regarded as truly independent by competitors like Reliance Jio, and would continue to build its own fiber. Unless assets are leased by Jio, these independent companies can’t grow,” he added.

    Airtel also appointed Randeep Singh Sekhon as the new chief of technology for its India and South Asia operations, replacing Savargaonkar. Sekhon, who will also report to Vittal, has a previous experience in various senior leadership roles with telcos in Malaysia and Indonesia being earlier CEO of Hutchison 3 Indonesia.

    These new appointments were announced following several events that happened in the company such as the exit of Airtel’s chief technology officer for mobile networks, Shyam Mardikar, who is widely speculated to be joining a rival telco and the departure of Airtel’s enterprise business head Ashok Ganapathy replaced by Ajay Chitkara, who now oversees both the domestic and global enterprise operations.

    Forming the new independent fiber company coincides with the preparation for another battle with Reliance Jio on the fiber optic network–the country’s wired broadband market. Airtel and Jio are having an intense price war in the wireless segment.

    It is expected that Jio will offer a mass-market wired-broadband product bundled with Internet-based television programming starting at about Rs 500 a month, almost half the current market rates for similar services.

    According to Soni, Airtel will benefit from the expansion of the market as Jio enters, but there will be pressure on the ARPUs which will decline by 30-50%. “In the short-term, Airtel will face revenue EBITDA declines in the home broadband segment and we are sure that in the medium term, they will benefit from the expansion of the market,” he added.

    According to analysts, Airtel should also consider the competitiveness of the combined Vodafone-Idea Cellular company, which will have a comparatively strong fiber business through the recently acquired YOU Broadband business.

    Homes in 89 cities pan-India benefit from Airtel’s fixed-line telephone and broadband (DSL) services. The number is set to reach to least 100 key cities from 89 now with Airtel planning to set aside a sizeable portion of its Rs 24,000 crore capital expenditure plan for FY19 to expand its broadband network. Another 10 million-plus homes will be covered by FY21, t

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  • Bharti Airtel launches VDSL vectoring

    Bharti Airtel launches VDSL vectoring

    India’s Bharti Airtel has launched a new VDSL vectoring service the company has branded V-Fiber, capable of delivering speeds of up to 100Mbps.

    The company’s new service has been launched in Chennai, and is being rolled out across Airtel’s national broadband network – which spans 87 cities.

    Airtel will offer the service to its existing customers at no additional cost, except for the cost of an upgraded modem. For new subscribers, Airtel will offer an unlimited three month trial offer.

    The operator will now also offer all its fixed broadband subscribers unlimited voice calling at no extra cost, and is providing a rewards program to allow broadband customers to get 5GB of additional mobile data per month if they are also subscribed to Airtel’s mobile services.

    As part of Project Leap, Airtel’s nationwide network transformation initiative, the company is meanwhile augmenting its 550,000km of domestic and international fiber capacity to improve latency and customer service and meet growing demand for data services.

    “India is witnessing an explosive growth in data usage and a lot of in-home data consumption is happening over fixed broadband that offers consistent speeds. Airtel has always innovated ahead of the curve and offered its customers best-in-class broadband technology and experience,” Airtel director of operations Ajai Puri said.

    “With ‘V-Fiber’ and our national optic fiber backbone, we are all set to offer a future ready network for tomorrow’s digitally connected homes. This solution, besides reducing our carbon footprint, offers a very quick and convenient upgrade to the customer.”

    Airtel is bracing for the anticipated impact of the planned entry into the fixed broadband market of Reliance Jio Infocomm, the disruptive pan-Indian 4G service provider with an extensive existing fiber footprint.

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