Bharti Airtel says its AI-powered network security systems have identified 98.4 billion suspected spam calls since the launch of its network-level spam detection system in September 2024. The company has also reported identifying 4.4 billion spam messages and blocking more than 1.62 million malicious links across its mobile and broadband networks.
The figures come as digital fraud in India continues to involve spam calls, phishing messages, impersonation attempts, malicious websites and scams designed to obtain sensitive information. Airtel says its Safe Network initiative is intended to detect and address some of these risks directly at the network level.
Airtel Expands AI-Based Spam Detection
Airtel launched its network-based AI spam detection system in September 2024. Unlike security solutions that depend on separate applications or manual reporting, the system operates through Airtel’s network infrastructure and is designed to work in the background.
The company has since expanded the initiative into a broader Safe Network framework covering spam calls and messages, malicious-link detection, OTP-related fraud protection and business-name identification for verified enterprise calls.
Airtel says its system identified 98.4 billion suspected spam calls and 4.4 billion spam messages during the two years since its initial rollout. The figures represent communications classified by the company's systems as spam or suspected spam; they should not be interpreted as 98.4 billion confirmed fraud attempts.
More Than 1.62 Million Malicious Links Blocked
Airtel has also expanded its network-level protection to suspicious websites and links. The company says it has blocked more than 1.62 million malicious links shared through channels including SMS, messaging applications, emails and browser redirects. The protection covers Airtel mobile and Wi-Fi broadband users.
The Safe Network also includes AI-based protection aimed at detecting situations in which users may be manipulated into sharing OTPs or other sensitive credentials. Another feature, business-name display, is intended to help customers distinguish verified enterprise calls from potentially fraudulent numbers.
Telecom Networks Take a Bigger Role in Cybersecurity
The development reflects a broader shift in how telecom networks are being used to address digital fraud. As banking, payments, shopping, healthcare and government services increasingly depend on connected devices, calls and messages can become an entry point for phishing and impersonation scams.
Network-level systems can analyse communication patterns before users interact with potentially suspicious content. However, such systems are an additional layer of protection and do not replace customer awareness, banking safeguards or law-enforcement action.
Airtel has cited Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre data showing that more than ₹52,976 crore was lost to cyber fraud in India over a six-year period. The company has also pointed to NCRB data showing continued growth in reported cybercrime cases.
What Airtel's Numbers Indicate
The scale of Airtel's reported detections highlights the volume of suspicious communications being processed across telecom networks. At the same time, detection figures alone do not establish how many individual users were targeted, how many fraud attempts were prevented or how many detected communications resulted in financial losses.
For businesses and individuals, network-based protection can therefore provide another security layer, while basic precautions such as checking unexpected requests and protecting sensitive credentials remain important. Businesses handling financial records and customer communications should also maintain appropriate controls and monitoring, including auditing services in india, to strengthen their broader compliance and risk-management processes.
Airtel's expanding Safe Network initiative shows how telecom infrastructure is increasingly being used not only to provide connectivity but also to identify and reduce digital communication risks.