PUNE: Airtel has appointed Rabi Shankar Mishra as chief executive officer, based in Pune, marking a sharp leadership shift as the telco sharpens its focus on growth, execution and market momentum.

Mishra moves into the role after leading Airtel’s Guwahati operations, where he built a reputation for tight execution and cross-functional leadership. In Pune, he will drive business strategy, operational excellence and expansion, drawing on deep expertise across sales, scale and complex, multi-market operations.

Before joining Airtel, Mishra held senior leadership roles across global consumer giants. He served as sales director at the Hershey company, vice president at Diageo, and held multiple associate vice president and associate director roles at Mondelēz International and Cadbury India Ltd, overseeing large, high-value businesses and teams across regions.

His earlier career at Pepsico India and Cavinkare laid a strong foundation in sales, customer development and route-to-market strategy across fast-moving consumer businesses.

With a rare blend of FMCG rigour and telecom scale, Mishra arrives in Pune to push Airtel harder, faster and deeper into its next phase of growth.

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MUMBAI: Global broadband subscribers surged past 1.52 billion in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 1.21 per cent quarterly rise as South and East Asia drove expansion, according to Point Topic data. Yet the picture remains patchy, with 22 countries—up from 14 in the previous quarter—seeing subscriber numbers fall as consumers shift to mobile broadband or grapple with economic headwinds and market saturation.

India topped the largest 20 fixed broadband markets with a blistering 4.7 per cent quarterly growth rate, whilst Britain stood out as an outlier, suffering a 0.3 per cent decline as fibre rollout failed to offset broader connection losses.

Fibre-to-the-home and building connections now command 72.34 per cent of global fixed broadband subscriptions, cementing the technology’s dominance. Other fixed technologies saw their market shares shrink, bar satellite and fixed wireless access, which bucked the trend with spectacular annual growth of 47.4 per cent and 29.9 per cent respectively.

The satellite boom was largely driven by Starlink breaching the 5 million customer mark, though growth has slowed due to capacity constraints and pricing pressures. Competition is set to intensify as Amazon’s Project Kuiper prepares for launch by year-end, with Britain expected among the first markets to go live following Ofcom approvals. Residential plans currently start at around £75 monthly.

Fixed wireless access is reshaping rural connectivity, particularly in America and India, with aggressive investments from Reliance, Bharti, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T driving adoption.

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Industry consolidation is accelerating, with potential mega-deals including Charter’s merger with Cox in America and a possible carve-up of France’s SFR among Orange, Bouygues and Iliad. Meanwhile, sub-Saharan Africa represents untapped potential, attracting significant infrastructure investment targeting broadband expansion.

MUMBAI: Act Fibernet has struck a streaming sweet spot. The wired internet major has teamed up with Amazon Prime to offer its users a fresh set of broadband plans bundled with Prime Lite — a compact yet power-packed version of Amazon’s popular subscription service.

Designed for digital-first consumers who want speed and spectacle in equal measure, the new ACT plans include high-speed fibre connectivity along with Prime Lite benefits: HD access to Prime Video’s catalogue of originals, films, and TV shows on one device, unlimited Same-Day/Next-Day deliveries, early bird access to marquee sales like Prime Day, and exclusive shopping deals.

Act’s subscribers, both new and existing, can access the bundle by signing up for six-month (or longer) plans. Once onboard, Prime Lite perks remain active for as long as the eligible Act subscription is live.

Act VP, head of brands, content and partnerships, Naveen Nahar, said, “At Act Fibernet, our brand promise is simple — Feel the Advantage. It’s about going beyond the fast internet to deliver real, everyday value to our customers. With the launch of Amazon Prime Lite on our platform, we’re giving our users the best of entertainment, shopping, and convenience — all in one seamless experience. Whether its world class shows, free express deliveries, or early access to deals, this partnership ensures our customers don’t just stay connected, they stay ahead.”

“At Prime Video, we remain committed to offering easy and convenient access to our much-loved Originals, movies, series, and more to customers across India,” said Prime Video India director & head, SVOD Business, Shilangi Mukherji said, “This strategic collaboration with Act Fibernet not only simplifies access to Prime Video’s extensive content selection but also delivers other shopping & shipping benefits of Prime Lite, like unlimited free ‘Same-day/Next-Day’ delivery across millions of products, early access to exclusive deals, and much more.”

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With this move, Act is no longer just a broadband provider — it’s a bundled convenience powerhouse. For subscribers, it’s all the streaming, scrolling, and shopping — at the speed of light.

Below is a list of cities and their corresponding starting rates for Prime Lite with ACT Plans: