When it comes to global industries that make staggering amounts of money, it’s safe to say that the telecommunication industry is very close to the top. And given that they’re responsible for connecting billions of people worldwide, this shouldn’t really come as a surprise.
But just how much money do the largest telecom companies make? And just how much do they make with every passing second? To find out, the team at VoiceNation used their data to pull together the following infographic displaying just how much the top telecommunication companies across the globe earn.
How much do the biggest telecom companies earn per second?
Being in charge of transmitting electronic information around the world in the form of calls, texts, images, and video, it’s obvious that most top telecommunications companies will be earning a lot of money.
But as our graph shows, it’s truly staggering just how much money they pull in per second.
| Company | Total Revenue | Revenue per Second | Country |
| AT&T | $168,860,000,000 | $5,354.52 | United States |
| Verizon | $133,610,000,000 | $4,236.75 | United States |
| China Mobile | $131,150,000,000 | $4,158.74 | China |
| Deutsche Telekom AG | $126,210,000,000 | $4,002.09 | Germany |
| Comcast | $116,380,000,000 | $3,690.39 | United States |
| Nippon Telegraph and Telephone | $108,370,000,000 | $3,436.39 | Japan |
| China Telecom | $64,290,000,000 | $2,038.62 | China |
| SoftBank | $54,210,000,000 | $1,718.99 | Japan |
| Vodafone | $50,870,000,000 | $1,613.08 | United Kingdom |
| Charter Communications | $50,830,000,000 | $1,611.81 | United States |
| KDDI | $48,250,000,000 | $1,530.00 | Japan |
| Orange | $48,150,000,000 | $1,526.83 | France |
| Telefónica | $45,720,000,000 | $1,449.77 | Spain |
| China Unicom | $44,240,000,000 | $1,402.84 | China |
| América Móvil | $39,860,000,000 | $1,263.95 | Mexico |
| BT Group | $31,270,000,000 | $991.57 | United Kingdom |
| KT Corporation | $21,450,000,000 | $680.18 | South Korea |
| Lumen | $19,680,000,000 | $624.05 | United States |
| BCE | $18,560,000,000 | $588.53 | Canada |
| Saudi Telecom | $16,920,000,000 | $536.53 | Saudi Arabia |
| Gruppo TIM | $16,499,000,000 | $523.18 | Italy |
| Bharti Airtel | $14,940,000,000 | $473.74 | India |
| SK Telecom | $14,500,000,000 | $459.79 | South Korea |
| Telstra | $14,390,000,000 | $456.30 | Australia |
| Telus | $13,330,000,000 | $422.69 | Canada |
The largest telecommunications company on our list in terms of wealth, AT&T, makes a mind–boggling $5,354.52 per second! That’s over $1,000 more than their next closest competitor, Verizon, who still makes an insane $4,236.75 per second!
The numbers in transit here are truly enormous, as shown by the top ten below:
- AT&T – $5,354.52
- Verizon – $4,236.75
- China Mobile – $4158.74
- Deutsche Telekom AG – $4,002.09
- Comcast – $3,690.39
- Nippon Telegraph and Telephone – $3,436.39
- China Telecom – $2,038.62
- SoftBank – $1,718.99
- Vodafone – $1,613.08
- Charter Communications – $1,611.81
Who is the largest telecommunications company in the world?
In terms of wealth, the largest telecommunications company in the world, and one of the largest top telecom companies in the USA, is AT&T. Worth an overwhelming $168.86 billion, only Verizon and China Mobile come close with a value of $133.61 billion, and $131.15 billion respectively.
As for the other top 25 biggest telecom companies in the world, we’ve listed them by value below:
- AT&T: $168.86 billion
- Verizon: $133.61 billion
- China Mobile: $131.15 billion
- Deutsche Telekom AG: $126.21 billion
- Comcast: $116.38 billion
- Nippon Telegraph and Telephone: $108.37 billion
- China Telecom: $64.29 billion
- SoftBank: $54.21 billion
- Vodafone: $50.87 billion
- Charter Communications: $50.83 billion
- KDDI: $48.25 billion
- Orange: $48.15 billion
- Telefónica: $ 45.72 billion
- China Unicom: $44.24 billion
- América Móvil: $39.86 billion
- BT Group: $31.27 billion
- KT Corporation: $21.45 billion
- Lumen: $19.68 billion
- BCE: $18.56 billion
- Saudi Telecom: $16.92 billion
- Gruppo TIM: $16.49 billion
- Bharti Airtel: $14.94 billion
- SK Telecom: $14.50 billion
- Telstra: $14.39 billion
- Telus: $13.33 billion
When Was AT&T Founded?
Given their total value, it’s safe to assume that AT&T has been around for a while. In fact, when reviewing the history of communication technology, AT&T dates back to 1877, when the Bell Telephone Company was founded – the very first telephone company in the world!
Founded by Gardiner Hubbard, father-in-law of Alexander Graham Bell, who had invented the telephone just one year earlier, a quick series of mergers and name changes, led to the company evolving into the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, formed in 1885.
AT&T and its army of subsidiaries then spread across the United States, effectively becoming a phone service monopoly, which eventually became federally authorized by the Kingsbury Commitment.
What Is the Kingsbury Commitment?
The Kingsbury Commitment was a 1913 out-of-court settlement between the United States government and AT&T.
In exchange for the government’s agreement not to pursue its antitrust case against AT&T, AT&T agreed to divest its controlling interest in the Western Union telegraph company and allow independent telephone companies to connect with the AT&T long-distance network.
AT&T kept its near-monopoly until the 1980s when the federal government forced the breakup of the company.
So, now you know just how much the largest telecom companies in the world are making each second. Of course, you don’t have to go directly to them for your telecommunication needs.
With VoiceNation, we can handle all your calls through our virtual receptionist service and live chat. Get in touch to learn more about what we can offer you. And if you’re interested in similar pieces to this one, why not read our article looking at the world’s most expensive phone bills?