Mobile Telephone Numbering in India for all operators and locations

Indian Government and the Telecom Regulatory Authorities have adopted both the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications, originally Groupe Spécial Mobile) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technologies for providing wireless mobile communication to the subscribers.

gap

Further, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has divided the country in to 22 different telecom circles. These circles are further classified in to three categories, A, B & C, depending upon the geographical spread, total population within the area and the potential market size, and the telecom companies are given the license to provide their services based upon these telecom circles only. The state run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) are the license holders by default, for the entire country, in between themselves.

gap

Calls originating and terminating within the same circle is treated as a Local Call, while across circles, it becomes a long-distance call. A telecom circle is normally the entire state, with a few exceptions like Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata (stand alone circles irrespective of parent states); Goa (part of Maharashtra circle); Chhattisgarh (part of Madhya Pradesh), Jharkhand (part of Bihar circle) and Uttar Pradesh (divided into two circles, East & West). Delhi is a unique circle because it includes towns from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh as well.

gap

Since 2005, calls between Metro circles and their respective parent states are treated as Local calls. Similarly, calls between UP-East and UP-West are also treated as Local. Since 2007, Chennai circle has been merged with Tamil Nadu.

Number Formats and Prefixes

All mobile numbers in India have the prefix 9, 8 or 7 (this includes pager services, but the use of pagers is on the decline). Each circle is allowed to have multiple private operators. Initially, the policy was to grant license to 2 private operators along with BSNL or MTNL, subsequently it was changed to 3 private operators plus BSNL or MTNL for GSM. At present, each circle has multiple operators including BSNL or MTNL. All mobile phone numbers are 10 digits long. The way to split the numbers is defined in the National Numbering Plan, 2003 as XXXX-NNNNNN where XXXX, i.e. the first four digits identifies the Network and the operator, NNNNNN is the subscriber numbers.

Mobile Number, Operator and Circle - Track any number with location

(Note: The mobile numbers and operators are subject to change since Mobile number portability is available in most circles. However, the location remains the same.)

Mobile Telephone Numbering System: 9xxx Series (GSM & CDMA)

Note:

• We have tried our best to make the information available error free. Still, there may be some errors and we would request our readers to notify us if they detect anything. 
• All details provided here are for informative purposes only. We are not responsible for any loss arising out of the use of information provided here.
• The readers are advised to cross-check with the official databases of COAI, AUSPI, TRAI, DoT or any other regulatory bodies implementing the National Numbering Plan in India.