Telecom service provider Aircel recorded the highest growth of 37.2% among operators in 2009-10, while Bharti Airtel retained its leading position, according to a survey by journal 'Voice and Data'.

Aircel, which recorded the highest growth among the top 10 telecom players, posted a revenue of Rs 4,700 crore to move to the number eight slot, the survey by telecom industry journal 'Voice and Data' revealed.

Bharti Airtel retained its leading position among telecom service providers and posted a growth of five% to end 2009-10 fiscal with revenues of Rs 38,800 crore, the survey said.

Vodafone recorded 13.7% growth to emerge as the third largest player with revenue of Rs 23,200 crore, it said.

"Leading public sector telecom giant BSNL saw a drop in its revenue for the second consecutive year to post Rs 30,240 crore, a drop of 14%, even though it retained the number two position among telecom players.

The company's mobile subscriber base grew by a third to touch 70 million, the survey found.

"Reliance Communications reported a negative growth of 3.5% with revenue of Rs 22,130 crore to occupy the number four slot," the survey pointed said.

Idea Cellular, Tata Communications and Tata Teleservices retained their slots at number 5, 6 and 7 with revenues of Rs 11,390 crore, Rs 11,000 crore and Rs 6,900 crore, respectively.

The other public sector telecom giant MTNL's revenue dropped nearly by a fifth -- highest among the top 10 players -- to Rs 3,650 crore, it revealed.

The third Tata group company, TTML, ranked number 10 among the top 10 telecom players, with revenues of Rs 2,300 crore helped the group earning go past the Rs 20,000 mark.