Sunil Mittal stuns Mukesh Ambani as Airtel beats Jio by becoming first company to…

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, owned by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal, respectively, are the two largest telecom providers in India. Jio boasts the highest number of subscribers, followed by Airtel in the second spot.

Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel, India’s second largest telecom provider, has become the country’s first private operator to launch mobile services around seven border villages in Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora districts in Jammu and Kashmir, posing a major challenge to the dominance of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio, the market leader in the country’s telecom sector.

In a statement on Wednesday, Airtel said it has connected villages such as Kachhal, Balbir, Razdan Pass, Taya Top, Ustad, Kathi, and Cheema to the rest of the country. “These villages are located in the Keran, Machhal, Tangdhar, Gurez, and Uri valley regions, spanning the three districts of Kupwara, Baramulla, and Bandipore. Airtel is the only private telecom operator providing its services in these regions.”

Airtel said it has deployed 15 mobile towers in this area, which will benefit the local population and also offer essential communication connections for soldiers stationed along the Line of Control.

“Bharti Airtel has partnered with the Indian Army to bring connectivity to villages in Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipore districts along the Line of Control in North Kashmir,” the statement said, adding that Airtel has collaborated with the Indian Army to improve network services and enhance connectivity in remote areas of military bases.

Recently, Bharti Airtel successfully established connectivity in the Galwan River region and Daulat Beg Oldie (BDO), which is recognised as India’s northernmost military outpost. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on several occasions has said that all nooks and corners of the country will get telecom connectivity by June 2025.

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, owned by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal, respectively, are the two largest telecom providers in India. Jio boasts the highest number of subscribers, followed by Airtel in the second spot. However, recently released data has revealed that Mukesh Ambani’s has lost a chunk of its market share to Airtel.

Airtel, which is owned by billionaire Sunil Mittal, has a market cap of Rs 9.59 lakh crore, while Mittal’s personal net worth is around $12 billion, according to Forbes Real Time Billionaires List, making him one of the richest men in the country.