Indian-American executive Srini Gopalan has been appointed chief executive officer of telecom operator T-Mobile, amid ongoing debates over H-1B visa policies. Gopalan's appointment, effective from November 1, 2025, comes as US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a staggering $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, triggering widespread panic, concern and fear among Indian professionals on work visa.
After the transaction with Temasek, Singtel will hold 47.39 per cent in Bharti Telecom.
Bharti has been expanding its spectrum portfolio and now owns 4G data across all 22 circles in India
From the Sensex firms, Reliance Industries climbed 3.52 per cent after the firm on Friday reported a 9.6 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit for the September quarter, driven by strong performance in its consumer-facing retail and telecom businesses and a recovery in its core oil-to-chemicals segment. Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan and Bharti Airtel were also among the gainers. However, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, Adani Ports and Power Grid were among the laggards.
Bharti Airtel sees opportunity in raising tariff for data services as it feels that rich are paying less and poor are not required to pay anymore, a senior official of the company said. During the company's earnings call for the first quarter of the current fiscal, Bharti Airtel vice-chairman and MD Gopal Vittal said that the company has written to the government for a relief on adjusted gross revenue and has demanded that it should be given benefit at par with other telecom operator, without naming Vodafone Idea.
From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Zomato, Hindustan Unilever, and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ITC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.
Singapore Telecommunications has stepped up its stake in Bharti Televentures to 30.84 per cent from the current 28.16 per cent.
New customer additions by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel pushed the Indian telecom subscriber base past 120.5 crore in June, according to a Trai report released on Tuesday. The wireless subscriber base grew marginally to over 117 crore and wireline connections in the country increased to 3.51 crore in June from 116.89 crore and 3.47 crore, respectively, in May, as per data released in Trai's subscriber report for June.
'We operate in 16 countries already, and therefore adding the UK to it, and beginning a chapter in the European continent is the next step.'
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Tuesday posted a 31 per cent drop in consolidated profit to Rs 2,072 crore in the March quarter mainly due to devaluation of the Nigerian Naira. The company had registered a profit of Rs 3,005.6 crore in the year-ago period. The consolidated revenue of operations increased 4.4 per cent to Rs 37,599.1 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 36,009 crore a year earlier.
Bharti Airtel on Monday reported a 168 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,593 crore for the September quarter, and the company unveiled top-level changes, including Gopal Vittal moving into the role of executive vice chairman on January 1, 2026. India's second-largest telco - that competes with Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea in the Indian telecom market - clocked quarterly revenues of Rs 41,473 crore, 12 per cent higher than the year-ago period, aided by strong momentum in India and growth in Africa.
Tata Sons Ltd, the holding company of the $150 billion Tata group, may be forced to infuse fresh capital into its loss-making telecom arm, Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL). This is because TTSL has to pay Rs 19,256 crore adjusted gross revenue (AGR) along with other dues to the central government by March 2026.
Reliance holds 67.03% of Jio Platforms Limited and the public listing would provide an exit to many investors.
Diversified private telecom operator Bharti Televentures on Wednesday unveiled a unified branding strategy for all telecom services with Airtel as the flagship brand.
The company had announced similar pricing for Sri Lanka, where its application was in advanced stages of regulatory clearance.
Bharti Airtel vice-chairman & managing director Gopal Vittal on Wednesday said while a call on exercising the option of converting pending spectrum dues into government equity would be taken by its board, the company had reached out to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to confirm whether it could do so. "On the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) conversion, it was simple.
India's space regulator INSPACe has granted a license to Starlink to offer space-based internet services in the country. The authorization is valid for five years and subject to regulatory provisions and clearances.
Vi partners SpaceX-rival AST SpaceMobile for satcom service on smartphones
Tata Steel, Maruti, Tata Motors, Infosys, Bharti Airtel and Tech Mahindra were also among the laggards. However, Trent, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Reliance Industries were the gainers.
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel reported more than 2.5 times jump in its consolidated profit to Rs 4,160 crore in the April-June quarter of 2024-25 compared to the year-ago period driven by an improvement in average revenue per user and an exceptional gain of Rs 735 crore. The company had posted a profit of Rs 1,612.5 crore in the same period a year ago. The consolidated revenue from operations of Bharti Airtel increased by 2.8 per cent to Rs 38,506.4 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 37,440 crore in the June quarter of the last year.
Bharti Group said on Thursday that it will not dilute its share in its telecom arm Bharti Televentures even if the government raises the foreign direct investment limit in the sector.
Many who track the ministry and the technology sector closely believe that the space won't see much impact on the policymaking side, but the gestation time for regulations might get long, as now there could be a wider consensus-building exercise on policy matters under a coalition government.
Shares of Reliance Industries as well as Bharti Airtel began the trade on a positive note on Wednesday after the two firms announced their partnerships with Elon Musk's SpaceX for providing high-speed internet services in India. Bharti Airtel stock opened with a gain of 5.49 pc to hit a high of Rs 1,388.25 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Soon, it pared all gains and traded 0.77 per cent lower to Rs 1,650.10 per piece.
Bharti Telecom, the unlisted holding company of Bharti Airtel, may issue fresh equity to the MTN group to give it the 25 per cent economic interest in India's largest mobile service provider.
India's biggest telecom players, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries-backed Jio Platforms, will soon bring billionaire Elon Musk-led SpaceX's Starlink satellite services to India. According to analysts, the move could boost India's tele density, especially in the rural areas, and may be an opportunity for investors to add the two stocks on dips for long-term gains
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government has changed the telecom policy after receiving electoral bonds worth Rs 150 crore from a company, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed on Thursday.
An Indian firm Vavasi Telecom is trying to rope in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited to pick up a stake in Zain.
Telecom services providers have urged the Ministry of Finance to suspend the universal service obligation (USOF) till the existing corpus is exhausted. In their Budget recommendations, they have also pressed for an exemption from the service tax on "assignment of right to use natural resources" and the slashing of Customs duty on telecom equipment to zero. The Cellular Operators Association of India (Coai), which represents private sector telecom operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, called for abolishment of USOF levy.
Elon Musk's Starlink has got licence for satcom services in India, according to sources.
This is the single largest foreign investment in India so far.
Among Sensex shares, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, ITC and Asian Paints were the biggest winners. On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, NTPC, UltraTech Cement and Power Grid were among the laggards.
From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Infosys, Bharat Electronics, Tech Mahindra and Eternal were major laggards. However, Maruti, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Trent and Tata Consultancy Services were among the gainers.
From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel climbed nearly 1 per cent after it posted about a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11,022 crore in the March 2025 quarter, mainly due to the tariff hike impact and one-time gain on tax benefits. However, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, NTPC and Power Grid were among the laggards.
The Bharti group, which has just acquired a majority stake in the Bangladeshi mobile operator Warid Telecom, is on the lookout to acquire government-owned telcos in developing markets like Africa which are up for divestment.
The government on Tuesday said it has not received any application for 2G spectrum auction except that of Sistema Shyam Teleservices that will bid for CDMA spectrum.
ontinuing its acquisition spree in the international market, Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said the company will acquire 100 per cent stake in Telecom Seychelles for $62 million (about Rs 288 crore).
Bharti Airtel remained the top telecom pick of Indian companies followed by Reliance Communications, according to the latest report by world's leading financial management and advisory company Merril Lynch.
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said it has partnered with Elon Musk's SpaceX for providing Starlink's high-speed internet services to its customers in India. This agreement is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisations to sell Starlink's satellite communications-based services in India, Airtel said in a statement.
The government has issued an advisory to mobile operator Bharti Airtel to document properly all its telecom connections, including broadband.
Bharti Airtel is expected to see its highest revenue growth, and subscriber addition during the third quarter (October-December) of FY25 among telcos, said analysts. The telco's top line in Q3 may see the fastest sequential growth at 5 per cent compared to 3 per cent for Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi). Airtel's annual mobile revenue growth would rise to 16 per cent, IIFL Capital said in an analyst note.
