Bharti Airtel, one of India’s largest telecom providers, suffered a major network outage on August 24, 2025, leaving thousands of users across the country unable to make calls or access the internet. The disruption—Airtel’s second in a week—ignited widespread frustration, with complaints pouring in from Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and several other major cities.
According to outage tracker Downdetector, reports of connectivity issues began around 10:45 am and peaked just after noon, with over 7,000 users affected at the same time. Roughly half (52%) of users reported call drops or no signal, while others faced total blackouts or unusable mobile data. Social media quickly filled with posts venting about the outage. While Airtel broadband services generally remained operational, mobile users vented on X (formerly Twitter) about call failures, interrupted online meetings, and even banking obstacles.
Airtel acknowledged the disruption, calling it a “temporary connectivity issue” expected to be resolved “within one hour.” The company advised affected users to restart their phones once services were restored. Nevertheless, as of late afternoon, several users reported lingering issues, and many criticized what they saw as poor communication and accountability. Some even joked about a “forced digital detox” while others questioned the lack of penalties on service providers compared to late payment fees for customers.
This outage comes days after a similar disruption and follows a pattern of recurring issues faced by large telecom operators in India. The incident highlights the nation’s growing digital reliance—and the frustration that arises when vital communication services go dark.
