State-run MTNL has received the highest amount of spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai at 12.4 Mhz as on March 2009, while private GSM operators Bharti and Vodafone are not far behind at 10 Mhz each in the same period.

Bharti and Vodafone have 10 Mhz each in Delhi. But most importantly, the private operators have got 8 Mhz each in the key 900 Mhz band while MTNL has got 6.2 Mhz on the same band. 900 Mhz is the most efficient band which can accommodate large chunk of subscribers.

As per the data compiled by the Department of Telecom's spectrum division, Idea has got 8 Mhz of spectrum on 1800 Mhz band in Delhi.

In Mumbai, MTNL has got 12.4 Mhz of spectrum with 6.2 Mhz each on the 900 and 1800 Mhz band while Vodafone has got 10.2 Mhz followed by BPL at 10 Mhz and Bharti at 9.2 Mhz. Host of new operators including Swan, Datacom, Unitech and TTSL have got 4.4 Mhz each.

BSNL holds 10 Mhz of spectrum in most of the circles it operate such as Kolkata, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil (Chennai), Kerala, Haryana, UP (East & West), Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, North East, Jammu & Kashmir.