This article will address the topic of List of mobile network operators, a highly relevant issue that has captured the attention of experts and the general public in recent years. List of mobile network operators has been the subject of numerous studies and research due to its impact on various aspects of daily life, from health to the economy. Throughout the text, different facets of List of mobile network operators will be analyzed, from its history and evolution to its implications in today's society. In addition, possible solutions and proposals to address the challenges posed by List of mobile network operators in the contemporary world will be examined. Through a multidimensional approach, the aim is to offer the reader a complete and updated vision of List of mobile network operators, in order to contribute to the debate and understanding of this phenomenon.
For a more comprehensive list of mobile phone operators, see Mobile country codes.
This is a list of the world's 25 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 |
1003.9[1] (September 2024) |
Government of the People's Republic of China (74.25%) Public stock (25.75%) | ||
| 2 | List
|
600[2] (September 2025) |
Bharti Enterprises (66.57%) Singtel (32.15%) Google (1.28%) | ||
| 3 | List
|
506[3] (September 2025) |
Jio Platforms | ||
| 4 | 423.4[4] (September 2024) |
China Telecommunications Corporation (State Owned) (70.89%) | |||
| 5 | 345.0[5] (September 2024) |
China Unicom Limited (40.92%) China Netcom Group (29.49%) Telefónica (0.6%) | |||
| 6 | List
|
310.0[6] (May 2024) |
|||
| 7 | List
|
315.8[7] (September 2024) |
Helu Slim (36.50%) Carlos Slim (6.84%) Public stock (56.66%) | ||
| 8 | List
|
305.3[8] (December 2024) |
Public stock (77%) Government of France (23%) | ||
| 9 | 270.5[9] (May 2025) |
||||
| 10 | List
|
288.0[10] (September 2024) |
Public stock (60.02%) Government Employees Pension Fund (25.33%) M1 (10.05%) | ||
| 11 | List
|
258.8[11] (September 2024) |
Free float (68.1%) Federal Republic of Germany (31.9%) | ||
| 12 | 203.86[12] (July 2025) |
Government of India (49.8%) Vodafone Group Plc (23.2%) Aditya Birla Group (9.85%) | |||
| 13 | List
|
162.5[13] (December 2023) |
Public stock (54.91%) Government of Malaysia (45.09%) | ||
| 14 | 159.3[14] (December 2023) |
Telkom Indonesia (65%) Singtel (35%) | |||
| 15 | Group Company PJSC (Etisalat) |
List
|
159[15] (2021) |
Emirates Investment Authority (60.03%) Public stock (39.97%) | |
| 16 | List
|
153.9[16] (December 2024) |
Letterone Investment Holdings S.A. (45.5%) The Stichting Administratiekantoor Mobile Telecommunications Investor (7.9%) Lingotto Investment Management LLP (7.8%) Shah Capital Management Inc. (6.7%)[17] | ||
| 17 | 149.4[18] (Q3 2024) |
Government of Qatar | |||
| 18 | 146[19] (December 2024) |
Verizon Communications | |||
| 19 | 139.0[20] (September 2024) |
Institutional Shares (59.28%) Vanguard Group Inc (14.12%) Blackrock Inc (11.49%)[21] | |||
| 20 | 138.31[22] (Q3 2024) |
Government of Norway (53.97%) Public stock (41.74%) The Government Pension Fund of Norway (4.79%) | |||
| 21 | 110.0[23] (Q1 2022) |
Government of Vietnam | |||
| 22 | 91.74[24] | Government of India | |||
| 23 | 91.4[25] (Q3 2025) |
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone | |||
| 24 | 87.60[26] (Q3 2024) |
Sistema (50.8%) | |||
| 25 | 77.26[27] (Q2 2024) |
AF Telecom Holding LLC (56.32%) USM Telecom LLC (43.68%) |
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 | Iridium | Proprietary TDMA | 0.824 (June 2016)[28] | |
| 2 | Globalstar | Proprietary CDMA | 0.638 (March 2015)[29] | |
| 3 | Thuraya | Proprietary FDMA/GSM | 0.260 (December 2007)[30] | Etisalat (28%) |
| 4 | Inmarsat | Proprietary GSM | 0.254 (September 2009)[31] | |
| 5 | ACeS | Dual-mode Satellite/GSM | 0.020 (December 2007) |
For a more comprehensive list of mobile phone operators, see Mobile country codes.