Telecom Industry : Top 15 Companies in World

Many Indian companies have grown beyond India. They operate in various countries. That means just like Multinational companies like Glaxo or P&G or Colgate or Bata having businesses in India, these Indian companies like TATA's, Bharti Airtel etc have become MNC's. The sad part is many investors are not aware of this development and keep crimping on these companies performance. They fail to appreciate these companies global business.

Of various Industries, the growth in Telecom can be attributed purely to the Block Buster success of early 21st Century. The momentum in mobile phone subscription has been alarming and amazing. This very development has made communication affordable across geographies. And Indian Companies have rightly managed to grow and compete with global giants. For instance, Bharti Airtel is ranked 4th in the world operating in 20 countries !!!. Of course other two Indian companies are yet to go beyond India. No doubt, our companies need to improve a lot in terms of business management and augmenting the Average Revenue per subscriber (ARUP). As the economy develops, so does the leadership companies of the respective countries. We need to understand and take advantage of these Indian companies which have good management and vision.

Here is a crisp comparison on TOP 15 Telecom companies in the world, ranked on the basis of total subscribers.

• China Mobile is a state-owned telecommunication company that provides multimedia services through its nationwide mobile telecommunications network. The company is the world’s largest mobile operator group with 683.08 million connections and is listed on both the NYSE and the Hong Kong stock exchange. It generates revenue of $22.05 billion
• The Vodafone group comes in second with 386.88 million connections. It is a British multinational telecommunications company and operates networks in over 30 countries and partner networks in more than 40 additional countries. Vodafone’s revenue is $13.92 billion.
• Owned by Mexico’s richest man Carlos Slim, the América Móvil Group has 251.83 million connections and a revenue of $7.98 billion. The company is headquartered in Mexico City and its subsidiary Telcel is the largest mobile operator in Mexico
• India’s first provider and the fourth all over, Bharti Airtel commands 250.04 million connections and has a revenue of $3.04 billion. Airtel also operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. The company is also the first to achieve Cisco Gold Certification.
• Representing Spain is the Telefónica Group with 243.51 million connections and a revenue of $11.40 billion. Telefónica also has operations in Europe, the USA and Latin America and is the former public monopoly of telecommunications in Spain.
• Another Chinese company in the list, China Unicom has 219.25 million connections and a revenue of $4.95 billion. China Unicom is a state-owned telecommunications operator established in 1994 and started out as a wireless paging and GSM mobile operator.
• Bringing the Netherlands to the list is the VimpelCom Group with 205.05 million connections and a revenue of $4.58 billion. Most of the company’s revenue, however, comes from Russia and Italy. VimpelCom was founded by a Soviet engineer, Dmitry Zimin who received a State Prize for his research in the field of phased arrays.
• Yet another Indian company in the list, Reliance Communications controls 154.60 million connections and generates a revenue of $0.48 billion. It provides wireless operations, broadband as well as direct-to-home services. It was founded by Anil Ambani in 2004
• Norway’s Telenor Group, which made news in India regarding its controversy with Uninor brings 152.74 million communications and a revenue of $2.55 billion. The Telenor Group has become an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, chiefly under the Telenor brand
• The last Chinese company on the list, China Telecom commands 144.18 million connections with a revenue of $3.37 billion. The company provides fixed-line and broadband internet access and as been listed on the Hong Kong and New York stock exchanges since 2002.
• A South Africa-based multinational mobile telecommunications company, the MTN Group has 136.59 million connections with a revenue of $3.85 billion. The company operates in many African and Middle Eastern countries as well.
• The France Telecom Group, popularly known as Orange (it represents the official brand for mobile and landline telephone services, ISP, mobile internet services and IP television), has 133.38 million connections and a revenue of $7.18 billion. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe
• Indonesia’s Telkomsel Group has 117.24 million connections and a revenue of $1.43 billion. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Jakarta. It provides network coverage for over 95 percent of Indonesia.
• The third representative from India, Idea Cellular has 117.16 million connections with a revenue of $1 billion. It started out as Tata Cellular which provided mobile services in Andhra Pradesh and after Birla-AT&T merged the service was rebranded as Idea. Currently, the Aditya Birla Group holds 49.1 percent of the total shares of the company.
• The Sistema Group from Russia which provides telecommunication service under MTS commands 114.51 million connections and a revenue of $2.54 billion. The Group offers mobile and fixed-line, broadband, and pay-TV, as well as content and entertainment services.