NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India's biggest mobile service company, has become the first in the country to cross 200 million subscribers.

The telecom major said in a statement said that it "has crossed the 200 million mobile subscriber mark in India, further consolidating its leadership position in the world's second-largest mobile market."

The company, which is in its 20th year of telecom services, became the first mobile operator in the country to get more than 200 million mobile users.

The company got its first permits for mobile telephony in November 1994 and started services in 1995.

Airtel is the largest telecom operator in India, in terms of both customers and revenue. It is the fourth-largest mobile operator in the world by subscribers.

The latest 100 million users were added in less than five years, according to the Airtel statement. It had crossed the 100 million mark in 2009.

The company led the mobile market with a 28.1% share at the end of January, according to data released by the Cellular Operators Association of India.

Vodafone was in second place with 162.1 million users and a 23.06% market share, COAI said.