TNI Bureau: Mobile phone has become an inseparable part of human life these days. Right from making calls to net surfing, the devices are being widely used. The days are gone when it was considered as a status symbol. Thanks to mobile phone service providers, whose efforts have brought the world closer.
Let us discuss which operators are the top amongst the leading Mobile Phone service providers in the world. Measured by number of subscribers, these following five operators are considered as the top five Mobile Service operators in the world.
1. China Mobile Limited: This Chinese state-owned telecommunication company is the largest mobile telecommunications company by market capitalization. It is listed on both the NYSE and the Hong Kong stock exchange. As of January 2012, China Mobile is the world’s largest mobile phone operator with about 655 million subscribers.
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2. Vodafone: This British multinational telecommunications company is the world’s second-largest mobile telecom company measured by both subscribers and 2011 revenues. The company owns and operates networks in over 30 countries and has partner networks in over 40 additional countries. Vodafone also owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, the largest mobile telecommunications company in the United States measured by subscribers. The company has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
3. Bharti Airtel Limited: Airtel, the Indian Telco has GSM network in all countries, providing 2G, 3G and 4G services. The company has over 261 million subscribers across 20 countries. It is the largest cellular service provider in India, with 186.9 million subscribers. Airtel is the first Indian telecom service provider to achieve Cisco Gold Certification. The company has also a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. Airtel is known for being the first mobile phone company in the world to outsource all of its business operations except marketing, sales and finance.
4. America Móvil: This is a Mexican telecommunication company. It is the fourth largest mobile network operator in the world in terms of equity subscribers. America Móvil is a Fortune 500 company. The company provides services to 246 million mobile subscribers in 18 countries.
5. Telefónica: This is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider with operations in Europe, the US and Latin America. The company is the former public monopoly of telecommunications in Spain. Telefónica is a supporter of the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) initiative that is promoting and establishing an open European standard for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast TV with a single user interface.