Bharti Airtel's Bold Move: Scaling Up with 56 New Edge Data Centres

Bharti Airtel is gearing up for a major expansion with plans to establish 56 edge data centres over the next 18-24 months. This initiative, unveiled by Executive Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal during the company's earnings call, aims to strengthen Airtel's foothold in the data centre market while investing heavily in optical fibre infrastructure.

Airtel's ambitions don't stop there. The company, which currently holds a 10-12% share of the Indian market, is eyeing significant growth. With an investment of Rs 20,000 crore in non-banking financial services and an overall capital expenditure increase of 11.5% in the March 2026 quarter, Airtel is focused on boosting its core business and broadband services.

Despite a 33.5% decline in consolidated net profit for the March 2026 quarter, driven by one-time statutory provisions, Airtel remains optimistic. The company reported a surge in annual revenue, crossing Rs 2 lakh crore, fueled by a 3.2% growth in its customer base and an increase in average revenue per user in India.

(With inputs from agencies.)