Iliad meets goal to become Europe’s 5th largest telecoms operator

France’s Iliad said on Thursday it had reached its goal to become Europe’s fifth largest telecoms operator by the number of customers, after it recorded 50 million total subscribers in the first half of 2024.

The group, which already was the fifth biggest fixed broadband operator in Europe, has been aiming to bring in more retail mobile subscribers.

“We now count 50 million subscribers in France, Poland and Italy, and as many as 61 million with our investment in Swedish operator Tele2,” CEO Thomas Reynaud said in a statement.

In France, where it operates under the Free brand, Iliad now has 22.8 million subscribers, while its second biggest market Poland recorded 15.3 million subscribers through mobile provider Play and cable operator UPC. In Italy, the total number of subscribers was 11.5 million by June 30.

Iliad’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after leases (EBITDAal) – a core operating earnings measure used by many European telecom companies – grew to 1.86 billion euros ($2.07 billion) in the first six months of 2024.

The unlisted group, owned by French billionaire Xavier Niel, stood by its annual revenue target of 10 billion euros.