Bharti Airtel the leading voice and data telecommunications network providing quality and affordable products and service in Africa and Asia has recently announced that it had signed up 50 million subscribers in Africa, and the company is looking to double that number by March 2013.
Airtel entered the African market 17 months ago when it acquired Zain’s mobile operations on the continent. Since then, the firm has gained 14 million new customers.
The growth is attributed to heavy investment in infrastructure. According to a press release, the firm has poured more than Sh100 billion in network infrastructure in the current financial year.
“We have made significant investments in our operations and brought in our ecosystem of world-class IT, networks and customer care partners to Africa,” the Airtel CEO, Mr Manoj Kohli, said.
The biggest mobile phone service provider in Africa, MTN, registered a 4.1 per cent growth in subscriber base to 158.6 million subscribers.
Airtel started operations in 15 countries in Africa last year when it acquired established carriers for a cumulative sum of $9 billion. Airtel had ended April 2011 with a little over 44 million subscribers in Africa and is the fifth largest telecom provider in the world, with operations in 19 countries in Africa and Asia and over 230 million subscribers.
Africa, like other developing regions, has seen a boost in Internet connectivity and mobile subscribers lately, with Nigeria alone having 80 million mobile phone users by the end of May 2011. Airtel has 3G licenses in 12 of the 17 African countries it operates in and was the first to bring 3G to Central Africa when it launched 3G
In Sierra Leone, airtel has connected both urban and rural areas with over 80 percent penetration on Voice and Data.
Airtel is also the most fulfilling corporate entity in the country supporting education, health care and also rewarding subscribers with wealth for their loyalty to the brand through fabulous promotions.
By Saidu Bah
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