Airtel hits 650M subscribers as Nigeria network expansion accelerates

Telecom company Bharti Airtel has reached 650 million mobile subscribers worldwide, making it the second largest telecom operator in the world by number of users.

The company announced this in a statement on Friday, saying the milestone shows how much it has grown across different countries.

Airtel operates in many regions and its network covers over two billion people globally. In Africa alone, it serves more than 179 million customers across 14 countries.

According to the company, reaching 650 million users shows its strong ability to provide reliable services and continue improving through innovation.

In Nigeria, Airtel has expanded its network significantly. Over the past three years, it increased its number of sites from about 13,000 to nearly 17,200. More than 1,500 new sites were added in the last year to improve service quality and reach more areas.

Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that Nigeria had over 145,000 telecom base stations as of December 2025. Airtel operates about 46,918 of these.

The company is also working on a second submarine cable connection point in Kwa Ibo, Akwa Ibom State. This is part of the 2Africa cable project, which aims to provide faster and more reliable internet across the country.

Nigeria’s telecom market is mainly led by MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria. MTN currently holds the largest market share at 52.31%, while Airtel follows with 33.89%.

In terms of revenue, MTN made N2.8 trillion from data services in 2025, while Airtel earned N838.6 billion.

Other telecom operators are far behind. Globacom has about 12.21% market share, while 9mobile has just 1.59%.

Despite this growth, many Nigerians still complain about poor network quality, including dropped calls and slow internet speeds.

To address this, the NCC recently ordered telecom companies to compensate customers in areas where service quality is poor. Users in affected areas may receive airtime credits if companies fail to meet required standards.

The commission had earlier introduced stricter rules on service quality, including penalties starting from about N5 million for violations and additional fines for continued poor performance.