Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has described financial services, data centers and Airtel Cloud as the new growth engines of the company. The company is moving beyond connectivity and focusing on digital services. Airtel Money has also received RBI approval as an NBFC.
New Delhi [भारत]July 13 (ANI): Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has identified financial services, data centers and Airtel Cloud as the company’s three key growth engines. This is indicative of the telecom giant’s strategy to move beyond connectivity and strengthen its digital services portfolio.
These are the 3 new growth engines of Airtel
Mittal said Airtel Money, which recently received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a non-deposit taking NBFC, will be “suitably capitalized in the coming years”. On the data center business, he said Nextra is “on track to build 1 GW capacity in the next few years”, backed by a US$1 billion fundraise from marquee investors with participation from Airtel. He said Airtel Cloud is seeing encouraging early traction by providing sovereign, telco-grade cloud services hosted within India.
Big investment on digital infrastructure
These comments came in Airtel’s FY26 annual report, where Mittal also outlined the company’s broader investment strategy focused on digital infrastructure, including 5G, fiber, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and data centers to support the next phase of India’s digital transformation.
Mittal said the telecom giant will continue to invest in future-ready infrastructure while maintaining disciplined capital allocation, as rising digital adoption, deployment of AI and supportive government policies are creating new growth opportunities.
The company believes that continued investment in connectivity and digital platforms will strengthen its leadership in consumer and enterprise businesses while also creating new sources of revenue.
Focus will be on ‘customer first’ thinking
“Airtel’s investments are geared towards harnessing new growth engines for India, underpinned by a flexible and secure digital infrastructure. These will be shaped by the same principles that have guided Airtel’s journey so far – a customer-first approach, disciplined execution and a long-term vision,” Mittal said in his message to shareholders.
Emphasis on 5G and network expansion
Highlighting Airtel’s long-term commitment to building digital infrastructure, Mittal said the company has invested over Rs 3.3 trillion in the last decade. “The rise of the 5G economy is defining the next phase of growth,” he said, adding that continued investment in network quality, coverage and capacity expansion remains a key differentiator for the company.
Boom in home broadband business
Mittal said Airtel is increasing investment in its home broadband business through faster fiber deployment and fixed wireless access (FWA). During FY26, the company added a record nearly 8 million fiber home passes and expanded FWA services to over 3,300 cities, resulting in record net customer additions.
Strong hold in enterprise services also
Airtel is also seeing strong momentum in enterprise services, driven by cloud, cybersecurity, IoT and CPaaS offerings.
On network investments, Mittal said Airtel’s “5G standalone readiness is an important milestone”, and the company is “investing at a fast pace in strengthening our transport network and building advanced 5G capabilities”, with the aim of delivering a better customer experience.
Investment strength from strong balance sheet
He said Airtel’s strong balance sheet and prudent capital allocation provide the financial flexibility to continue investing in long-term growth opportunities while maintaining shareholder returns. (ANI)
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