Nairobi - December 5th, 2013:Bharti Airtel, a leadingtelecommunications serviceprovider with operations in 20countries across South Asia andAfrica, was recognized as the African Operator of the Year at theCommsMEA Awards 2013.Executives including telecomsCEOs, vendors, ministers andregulators attended the eighthedition of the event at a 300-strong gathering at the Awards galadinner held at Jumeirah EmiratesTowers in Dubai.

The award recognizes excellence within
the telecoms sector across the Middle
East and Africa. By beating some
seriously strong contenders on the
shortlist, Airtel has been recognized as
the best African Operator. The winners were decided from a
record number of nominations by a
judging panel consisting of Akshay
Lamba, chief architect and head of IT
strategy at MTS; Milan Sallaba, managing
director at Accenture Middle East; Erik Almqvist, partner and global head of
operational consulting, Analysys Mason;
Mark Kremers, partner, Oliver Wyman;
Riad Hartani, partner at Xona, and Alan
Horne, CEO Broadband Pioneer and
Special Advisor to Global eHealth Foundation. Commenting on the achievement, Andre
Beyers, the Chief Marketing Officer at
Airtel Africa, said: “We are humbled by
this recognition and the trust that the
international industry panel, consumers
and other stakeholders have placed on Airtel since our entry into Africa in 2010.
During the past three years, we have
managed to serve more communities
within the countries that we operate in
and hopefully change their lives through
not only the voice but also the data and mobile commerce services that we
provide. The latter are increasingly
becoming essential in Africa.” Airtel Africa now has the largest 3G and
Mobile Commerce country footprint in
sub Saharan Africa. The
telecommunications company provides
3G services in 14 African countries and
Airtel Money services in 17 countries across the continent. Airtel Money is positioned to become
Africa's widest financial services
provider. With a coverage across Airtel
Africa's operations in the 17 countries,
the mobile money platform is poised to
serve more diverse communities than any other financial institution in Africa.
Currently leveraging a network of over
100,000 agent locations, Airtel Money
facilitates access to financial services for
the unbanked population. A recent survey conducted by the
African Business magazine indicates
that despite only a 3 year presence in
Africa, Airtel is one of Africa's top ten
most admired global brands.