Bharti Airtel plans to build 56 edge data centers in India over the next 18 to 24 months, as it looks to scale capacity for AI workloads and low-latency applications.
The companys executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal laid out the target during Bharti Airtels fourth-quarter FY26 earnings call, positioning the roll-out as a differentiation lever for the next two to three decades.
56 edge data centers as Airtel targets differentiation
Gopal Vittal said Airtel is focused on building 56 world-class edge data centers in the 18 to 24 month window. He added that the edge build is intended to build a strong point of differentiation over the next two to three decades.
The plan comes as Indias overall data center capacity reached approximately 1,700MW in 2025, alongside record new supply of 440MW. CBRE projects Indias data center stock to grow by around 30% year-on-year in 2026, with hyperscalers including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google investing in the market.
Market-share push and a gigawatt ambition
Vittal said Airtel aims to expand its market share in the data center market, while also calling its current data center presence only about 10% to 12%. He said Airtel is not satisfied with that level of presence.
Airtels ambition is to reach a gigawatt of data center capacity, and Vittal said the company will continue building out after reaching the target rather than stopping at that milestone.
AI hub tie-ins and where demand is concentrated
Airtel is also tying its data center build to AI infrastructure. The company announced an investment of $15 billion to build an AI data center hub in collaboration with Google, described as including a gigawatt-scale data center and subsea cable landings. Airtel also received $1 billion in investment for its data center arm, Nxtra.
Separately, Vittal pointed to demand concentration, saying 50% to 60% of current data center demand originates in Mumbai, and that land acquisition is a near-term priority based on that share.
Capex context and the edge-growth rationale
In India, Bharti Airtels capex in the March 2026 quarter was INR134.88 billion (about $1.4 billion), up from INR125.53 billion (about $1.3 billion) in the March 2025 quarter. The company does not share capex separately for Nxtra.
Edge centers are growing in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as demand for low-latency applications increases, with 5G fixed wireless access networks and AI application popularity fueling the need for edge deployments. Airtel argues edge data centers process data closer to where it is generated, improving latency and customer experience; it also frames edge centers as a natural extension of its network footprint, fiber infrastructure, and points of presence across India.