This is a list of mobile network and satellite phone network operators measured by number of subscriptions.
For a more comprehensive list of mobile phone operators, see Mobile country codes.
This is a list of the world's thirty largest terrestrial mobile phone network operators measured by number of subscriptions.
Rank | Company | Main markets | Technology | Total subscriptions (in millions) |
Ownership (100% ownership unless stated otherwise) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() Communications Corporation |
List
|
946.34 [1] (October 2020) |
Government of the People's Republic of China (74.25%) Public stock (25.75%) | |
2 | ![]() |
List
|
457.96 [2] (Dec-2020) |
Bharti Enterprises (64%)
SingTel (36%) | |
3 | ![]() |
List |
408.77 [3][4] (December 2020) |
||
4 | ![]() |
List |
350.16[5] (October 2020) |
China Telecommunications Corporation (State Owned) (70.89%) | |
5 | ![]() |
309.18[6] (September 2020) |
China Unicom Limited (40.92%) China Netcom Group (29.49%) Telefonica (0.6%) | ||
6 | ![]() |
List
|
[Note 1] | 285.0[7][Note 2] (November 2020) |
|
7 | ![]() |
284.26[3] (December 2020) |
Vodafone Group (44.4%) Aditya Birla Group (26.0%) Axiata Group Berhad (8.17%) Private equity (20.73%) | ||
8 | ![]() |
List
|
280.72[8] (October 2020) |
Helu Slim (36.50%) Carlos Slim (6.84%) Public stock (56.66%) | |
9 | ![]() |
List
|
273.44[9] (September 2020) |
Public stock (60.02%) Government Employees Pension Fund (25.33%) M1 (10.05%) | |
10 | ![]() |
260.88[10] (October 2020) |
|||
11 | ![]() |
List
|
211.86[12] (October 2020) |
Public stock (77%) Government of France (23%) | |
12 | ![]() |
207.40[13] (October 2020) |
Letterone Investment Holdings S.A. (47.9%) Public stock (43.8%) Stichting Administratiekantoor Mobile Telecommunications Investor (8.3%) | ||
13 | ![]() |
List
|
199.71[14] (September 2020) |
Free float (68.1%) Federal Republic of Germany (31.9%) | |
14 | ![]() |
180.30[15] (October 2020) |
Government of Norway (53.97%) Public stock (41.74%) The Government Pension Fund of Norway (4.79%) | ||
15 | ![]() |
List
|
176.74[16] (October 2020) |
Institutional Shares (59.28%) VANGUARD GROUP INC (14.12%) BLACKROCK INC. (11.49%) STATE STREET CORP (7.53%) NEWPORT TRUST CO (5.07%) GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC (2.52%) [17] | |
16 | ![]() |
List
|
162.57[18] (July 2020) |
PT Telkom Indonesia (65%) Singtel (35%) | |
17 | ![]() Group Company PJSC (Etisalat) |
List
|
146.10[19] (July 2020) |
Emirates Investment Authority (60.03%) Public stock (39.97%) | |
18 | ![]() |
145.84[20][21] (February 2020) |
Public stock (54.91%) Government of Malaysia (45.09%) | ||
19 | ![]() |
120.32[22] (October 2020) |
Verizon Communications | ||
20 | ![]() |
122.03 [3] (October 2020)[Note 4][23] |
Government of India | ||
21 | ![]() |
List
|
118.32[26] (April 2020) |
||
22 | ![]() |
110.0[27] (December 2018) |
Government of Vietnam | ||
23 | ![]() |
List
|
98.49[28](2020) | CK Hutchison Holdings | |
24 | ![]() |
89.32[29] (May 2020) |
Asiacom (54.5%) Singtel (21.5%) Ayala Corporation (13.9%) Public stock (10.2%) | ||
25 | ![]() |
84.90[30] (August 2020) |
Sistema (50.8%) | ||
26 | ![]() |
79.67[31] (December 2019) |
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone | ||
27 | ![]() |
75.10[32] (May 2020) |
AF Telecom Holding LLC (56.32%) USM Telecom LLC (43.68%) | ||
28 | ![]() |
List
|
73.08[33] (May 2020) |
First Pacific (25.57%) NTT Docomo (20.35%) JG Summit Holdings (11.27%) Public (42.15%) Directors and officers (0.66%) | |
29 | ![]() |
54.5[34] (September 2019) |
|||
30 | ![]() |
List
|
52.42[35][36] (December 2019) |
This is a list of the world's five largest satellite phone network operators measured by number of subscribers.
Rank | Operator | Technology | Subscribers (in millions) |
Ownership |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Proprietary TDMA | 0.824 (June 2016)[37] | |
2 | ![]() |
Proprietary CDMA | 0.638 (March 2015)[38] | |
3 | ![]() |
Proprietary FDMA/GSM | 0.260 (December 2007)[39] | Etisalat (28%) |
4 | ![]() |
Proprietary GSM | 0.254 (September 2009)[40] | |
5 | ![]() |
Dual-mode Satellite/GSM | 0.020 (December 2007) |