Airtel crosses 50 million customer mark in Africa

The company has added 14 million subscribers to Zain's mobile operations in 16 African countries during this period, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

"I would also like to thank the governments and regulators for their support and would like to reiterate that we share their vision of bridging the digital divide with affordable telecom services," said Manoj Kohli, Bharti Airtel CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director.

Airtel Africa has invested USD 1 billion in the network infrastructure this fiscal and is launching the same technology that is being rolled out in Europe and the US.

"Airtel will continue to bring to Africa world-class and innovative voice and data services that delight customers and add value to their daily lives," Kohli said.

The company has already been awarded 12 3G licences across its operations and recently launched the first 3G network in Congo B. Earlier this year, the company expanded the footprint after being granted the licence to operate a GSM network in Rwanda.

Kohli said recently that Airtel Africa will grow its customer base to 100 million, and its revenue to USD 5 billion by year 2013 through a strong focus on deep penetration, innovation and customer responsiveness.

In addition to building infrastructure, Airtel has signed agreements with leading companies like Nokia, Samsung and Blackberry to provide devices that will enable consumers to access the services effectively.

Last year, Bharti Airtel had acquired Zain's African business for USD 10.7 billion.