Airtel

Airtel bets on financial services, data centres after ₹3.3 trn investment

After investing over Rs 3.3 lakh crore in building digital infrastructure in the past decade, Bharti Airtel is betting big on financial services, data centres, and cloud for the next phase of growth, Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said in the company's annual report. Bharti Airtel has announced Rs 20,000-crore investment in non-banking financial company Airtel Money while its data centre Nxtra recently raised USD 1 billion (about Rs 9,500 crore) as part of its plan to build 1 gigawatt capacity. "Over the last few years, we took a calibrated approach to build new growth engines for Airtel. These bold bets yielded strong outcomes and have grown our conviction in three adjacencies where we believe Airtel has a clear right to win -- financial services, data centres and Airtel Cloud," Mittal said in the report released late night on Saturday. He said Airtel Money was granted the approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a non-deposit taking Non-Banking Financial Company ...

Who decides a call is 'spam'? Inside the systems behind caller IDs

Your phone may warn you about spam before you answer. But who decides which calls get that tag, and on what basis? Read on

Monetisation options may drive Bharti Airtel rerating as growth accelerates

Stock marginally outperformed the benchmarks over the past three months

Mcap of 6 of top-10 most valued firms surges ₹1 trillion, Airtel top gainer

The combined market valuation of 6 of the top-10 most valued firms surged by Rs 1 lakh crore last week, with Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance emerging as the biggest gainers, amid a largely positive trend in equities. Last week, the BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 663.44 points, or 0.86 per cent, and the NSE Nifty rose 214.85 points, or 0.89 per cent. Markets ended the week on a firm footing, supported by resilient domestic macroeconomic indicators, healthy GST collections and improving industrial activity, Ajit Mishra, SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said. "Expectations of a more accommodative global monetary policy following softer-than-expected US labour market data further strengthened investor sentiment," he added. The market valuation of Bharti Airtel jumped Rs 36,529.21 crore to Rs 11,63,877.30 crore, the most among the top-10 firms. Bajaj Finance added Rs 33,059.83 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 6,43,141.36 crore. ICICI Bank's valuation surged Rs 16,084.29 crore to Rs

25 years of A R Rahman's Airtel jingle: A timeless lesson in branding

You don't need lyrics to know it. You don't need a screen to see it

Bharti Airtel: Tariff hike key trigger; Morgan Stanley 'OW' for 34% upside

Airtel share price target: Morgan Stanley said the key catalyst for stronger earnings remains a tariff hike, which may be announced in November or December this year.

Jio's offer to repurpose 26GHz spectrum faces Airtel's opposition

The spectrum band promised a lot - high speeds in 5G-enabled cellphone handsets, and enough bandwidth to work in crowded areas like stadiums, airports and ports

Telecom subscriber base rises to 1.34 bn in May, Airtel leads growth: Trai

Telecom subscriber base grew to 134.3 crore in May, driven by net additions on the Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio networks, according to Trai data released on Thursday. Airtel led the growth in subscriber base with net addition of 29.8 lakh subscribers over the month of April, comprising 29.26 lakh in the mobile segment and 53,809 in fixed line connection segment. It was followed by Reliance Jio, which reported a net addition of 22.55 lakh subscribers, comprising 21.54 lakh in the mobile segment and 1.01 lakh in thefixed line segment. Both private telecom operators jointly contributed 52.36 lakh new subscribers, or about 94 per cent, in the total net addition of 55.6 lakh subscribers in May. "The number of total telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,337.54 million at the end of April 2026 to 1,343.10 million at the end of May 2026, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.42 per cent," Trai's monthly data subscriber report for May 2026 said. The total number of wireles

Bharti Airtel added highest value among pvt firms in 5 years: Hurun report

The telecom major added ₹7.64 trn in value over 5 years, while TCS, Infosys and Wipro together lost ₹8.5 trn, according to the Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 report

Bharti Airtel raises stake in Airtel Africa to 79% in ₹28,000-cr deal

Bharti Airtel has raised its stake in Airtel Africa by 16.31 per cent to about 79 per cent through a share-swap agreement, which is estimated to be around Rs 28,200 crore, according to a company filing on Tuesday. Before the transaction, Bharti Airtel held 62.73 per cent in Airtel Africa. "The company completed the acquisition of 595,204,251 shares (around 16.3 per cent stake) of Airtel Africa, from ICIL on June 22, 2026. Consequently, the company's effective stake in Airtel Africa has increased to around 79 per cent," Bharti Airtel said in the filing. The transaction involves Bharti Airtel issuing equity shares to Indian Continent Investment Limited (ICIL), a promoter group entity, on a preferential basis, in exchange for its 16.31 per cent stake in Airtel Africa. The transaction, being a cashless share-swap, presents an opportunity to the company to acquire a large block and increase its economic interest in a high-growth asset without any incremental leverage or cash outflow, th

Mcap of 9 most valued firms jumps ₹2.15 trn, Airtel biggest winner

The combined market valuation of nine of the top-10 most valued firms jumped by Rs 2.15 lakh crore last week, with Bharti Airtel emerging as the biggest winner, in line with improving global risk sentiment. Last week, the BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 1,274.95 points, or 1.68 per cent. "Indian equity markets extended their recovery during the week, supported by easing geopolitical concerns, softer crude oil prices, and improving global risk sentiment. Although negotiations remain ongoing and the agreement is yet to be fully implemented, the reduction in geopolitical uncertainty has significantly improved market sentiment," Ponmudi R, CEO - Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said. The market valuation of Bharti Airtel surged by Rs 52,432.67 crore to Rs 11,62,963.30 crore, the most among the top-10 firms. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) added Rs 51,675.23 crore, taking its valuation to Rs 5,56,726.30 crore. The valuation of Bajaj Finance soared by Rs 26,55

Bharti Airtel shareholders approve ₹28,200 cr Airtel Africa share-swap deal

Shareholders have approved Bharti Airtel's ₹28,200 crore share-swap transaction with promoter group entity ICIL, raising the telecom firm's indirect stake in Airtel Africa to 79.04 per cent

Airtel rebrands Priority Postpaid as Fast Lane amid neutrality row

Bharti Airtel has rebranded its Priority Postpaid service, which triggered net neutrality debate, as Fast Lane service, extending the promise of faster connectivity to postpaid users, the company said on Wednesday. The company has made changes on the website, and signals on mobile phones are also displaying the "Fast lane" name now. When asked if the company has shelved the Priority Postpaid plan, the company spokesperson denied the development but acknowledged the rebranding of the service as Fast Lane. "There is no question of withdrawal of our new post-paid plan... Our launch campaign has ended. And our descriptor to signal what we are doing 'Fast Lane' - captures the essence of what we offer. Our postpaid users continue to remain on a slice. So, every user who chooses our postpaid plan and has a 5G-capable device gets an enhanced experience. Faster speeds, unlimited data, and exceptional service," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said that network slicing used for ...

Airtel Priority Postpaid exposes blind spot in net neutrality framework

By using 5G network slicing, Airtel is testing whether differentiated connectivity can coexist with India's content-neutral net neutrality framework

CLSA bullish on Bharti Airtel as Airtel Money IPO nears; sees 27% upside

At $10 billion valuation, the listing could would put Airtel Money among the largest IPOs on a European exchange in recent years. London is the most likely location for the listing of Airtel Money.

Regulator likely to take benign view of Bharti Airtel postpaid plan

Trai is inclined to view Airtel's 5G priority postpaid plans as compliant with net-neutrality norms, while continuing to monitor their impact on users

Customising for customers? Issues in 5G slicing spark net neutrality debate

Vodafone Idea's attack on Airtel's priority postpaid plans has reignited the debate over 5G slicing, net neutrality, and equal network access in India

Vodafone Idea pitches for 'equitable, inclusive access' to all customers

No 3 carrier wades into net-neutrality debate triggered by Airtel's priority postpaid plans

Nokia, Ericsson back Airtel's 5G slicing offer for postpaid users

Airtel's new Priority Postpaid plans powered by 5G slicing have received backing from Nokia and Ericsson amid debate over differentiated network services

Airtel introduces 5G slicing on postpaid plans: What is it and how it works

Airtel has introduced a priority service tier for postpaid users, using 5G network slicing to offer more stable connectivity during periods of heavy network congestion