TRAI releases report on independent drive tests conducted in Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has conducted an Independent Drive Tests (IDT) in nine cities, highways and railway routes namely Aligarh city and Meerut to Dehradun Railway route [Uttar Pradesh (UP)-West Licensed Service Area (LSA)], Bhubaneshwar city (Odisha LSA), Jammu City and Jammu to Srinagar Highway (Jammu and Kashmir LSA), Lucknow city and Fatehpur to Varanasi Highway (UP-East LSA), Navi-Mumbai city (Mumbai LSA), Raipur city (Madhya Pradesh LSA), Siliguri, Darjeeling and Kalimpong city (West Bengal LSA), Thiruvananthapuram city (Kerala LSA) and Vapi-Rewari Highway (Gujarat LSA). Drive tests were conducted to assess the quality of service provided by cellular mobile telephone service providers for voice and data services in December 2024.

In IDT, the performance of Bharti Airtel, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)/ Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited and Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi), providing services in a LSA through various technologies (like 2G/ 3G/ 4G/ 5G) for voice and data, has been measured by conducting drive test. The observations presented in drive test reports represent the performance of the service providers on the area/ route under test on the day/ time of conducting the drive test.

The key performance indicators (KPIs) for voice as well as data service assessed for the networks of all telecom service providers operating in the region included call setup success rate, drop call rate, speech quality using mean opinion score (MOS), downlink and uplink packet (voice) drop rate, call silence rate and coverage- signal strength, under voice services. Meanwhile, data throughput (downlink and uplink both), packet drop rate (downlink and uplink), video streaming delay, latency and jitter, under data services were considered.

In Aligarh City and Meerut City to Dehradun Railway route, UP West LSA, as per the report, Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had 97.69 per cent, 90.23 per cent, 97.27 per cent and 98.03 per cent call setup success rate respectively. BSNL has taken comparatively longer time (3.27 seconds) to establish the voice call. Whereas, Airtel, Jio and Vi call setup time is 1.07, 0.78 and 0.77 second respectively in open mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).  BSNL’s overall call drop rate (5.50 per cent) is higher [quality of service (QoS) benchmark of 2 per cent], while Airtel, Jio and Vi had call drop rate of 0.17 per cent, 0.50 per cent and 0.17 per cent respectively. In packet switched network (4G/5G), Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had 0.77 per cent, 3.23 per cent, 0.00 per cent and 0.00 per cent silence call rate respectively. Quality of speech of Vi (4.45) and Airtel (4.02) had a MOS more than four, whereas BSNL (2.79) and Jio (3.93) had MOS score less than four.

Meanwhile, BSNL (7.29 Mbps) and Vi (36.37 Mbps), operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average download speed. Whereas Airtel and Jio achieved significantly higher average download speed of 165.91 Mbps and 260.08 Mbps in 4G/5G technology. BSNL (3.57 Mbps) and Vi (15.77 Mbps), operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average upload speed. Whereas Airtel and Jio achieved significantly higher average upload speed of 30.94 Mbps and 34.07 Mbps, respectively in 4G/5G technology.

In Bhubaneswar City, Odisha LSA, Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had 99.44 per cent, 51.51 per cent, 99.32 per cent and 100.00 per cent call setup success rate respectively. BSNL has taken comparatively longer time (2.78 seconds) to establish the voice call, whereas Airtel, Jio and Vi call setup time is 0.51, 0.60 and 0.50 second respectively in open mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). BSNL’s overall call drop rate (1.77 per cent) is higher (QoS benchmark of 2 per cent), while Airtel, Jio and Vi had call drop rate of 0.14 per cent, 0.96 per cent and 0.00 per cent respectively. In packet switched network (4G/5G), Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had 0.00 per cent, 3.95 per cent, 1.31 per cent and 0.19 per cent silence call rate respectively. Quality of speech of Vi (4.64) and Airtel (4.00) had a MOS score more than four, whereas BSNL (2.69) and Jio (3.88) had a MOS score less than four.

Further, BSNL (3.86 Mbps) and Vi (32.99 Mbps), operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average download speed. Whereas, Airtel and Jio achieved significantly higher average download speed of 151.65 Mbps and 236.83 Mbps in 4G/5G technology. BSNL (4.27 Mbps) and Vi (18.87 Mbps), operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average upload speed. Whereas, Airtel and Jio achieved significantly higher average upload data speed of 30.78 Mbps and 20.49 Mbps, respectively in 4G/5G technology.

In Jammu City and Jammu-Srinagar Highway, Jammu and Kashmir LSA, Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had 99.06 per cent, 94.06 per cent, 99.20 per cent and 96.35 per cent call setup success rate respectively. BSNL has taken comparatively longer time (2.90 second) to establish the voice call, whereas Airtel, Jio and Vi call setup time is 1.42, 0.81 and 1.23 seconds respectively in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). BSNL’s overall call drop rate 4.99 per cent is higher (QoS benchmark of 2 per cent), while Airtel, Jio and Vi had drop call rate of 0.24 per cent, 0.23 per cent and 1.78 per cent respectively in auto selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). In packet switched network (4G/5G), Airtel, Jio an Vi had 0.27 per cent 0.94 per cent and 0.98 per cent silence call rate respectively. Quality of speech of Airtel (4.04) had a MOS score more than four, whereas BSNL (2.78), Jio (3.88) and Vi (3.83) had MOS score less than four.

Furthermore, BSNL (2.90 Mbps) and Vi (21.54 Mbps), operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average download speed. Whereas, Airtel and Jio achieved significantly higher average download speed of 185.10 Mbps and 416.35 Mbps in 4G/5G technology. BSNL (2.45 Mbps) and Vi (13.02 Mbps), operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average upload speeds. Whereas, Airtel and Jio achieved significantly higher average upload speed of 28.39 Mbps and 38.69 Mbps, respectively in 4G/5G technology.

In Lucknow City and Fatehpur to Varanasi Highway, UP East LSA, Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had call setup success rate of 100.00 per cent, 92.20 per cent, 100.00 per cent and 99.27 per cent respectively. BSNL has taken comparatively longer time (3.59 seconds) to establish the voice call, whereas Airtel, Jio and Vi call setup time is 1.20, 0.69 and 1.89 second respectively in open mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). BSNL’s overall call drop rate (5.85 per cent) is higher (QoS benchmark of 2 per cent), while Airtel, Jio and Vi had 0.00 per cent, 0.12 per cent and 0.12 per cent respectively. In packet switched network (4G/5G), Airtel, Jio and Vi had 1.36 per cent, 0.30 per cent and 2.10 per cent silence call rate respectively. Quality of speech of Vi (4.28) having MOS score more than four, whereas Airtel (3.94), BSNL (2.55) and Jio (3.93) had MOS score less than four.

In addition, BSNL (5.01 Mbps) and Vi (41.73 Mbps), operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average download speeds. Whereas, Airtel and Jio achieved significantly higher average download speeds of 129.46 Mbps and 321.41 Mbps in 4G/S5G technology. BSNL (4.06 Mbps) and Vi (15.38 Mbps), operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower upload speeds. Whereas, Airtel and Jio achieved significantly higher average upload speeds of 28.44 Mbps and 40.80 Mbps, respectively in 4G/5G technology.

In Navi Mumbai, Panvel to Vashi Railway, Belapur to Pendhar Metro and JNPT Belapur area towards Vashi Coastal route – Mumbai LSA, Airtel, MTNL, Jio and Vi had 99.49 per cent, 43.81 per cent, 99.88 per cent and 99.00 per cent call setup success rate respectively. MTNL has taken longer time (5.40 second) to establish the voice call, whereas Airtel, Jio and Vi call setup time is 1.30, 0.58 and 1.01 seconds respectively in auto selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). MTNL’s overall call drop rate (21.41 per cent) is higher (QoS benchmark of 2 per cent), while Airtel, Jio and Vi had drop call rate of 0.00 per cent, 0.25 per cent and 0.13 per cent respectively in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). In packet switched network (4G/5G) Airtel, Jio and Vi had 0.98 per cent, 0.40 per cent and 1.61 per cent silence call rate respectively. Quality of speech of Vi (4.42) having MOS score more than four, whereas Airtel (3.95), MTNL (2.56) and Jio (3.91) had relatively lower MOS score.

Moreover, MTNL (0.54 Mbps) and Vi (41.21 Mbps), operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average download speeds. Whereas, Airtel and Jio achieved significantly higher average download speeds of 161.89 Mbps and 319.93 Mbps in 4G/S5G technology. MTNL (0.46 Mbps) and Vi (11.17 Mbps) being on 3G and 4G as top technology respectively, comparatively lower average upload speeds. While Airtel and Jio had average upload speed of 29.58 Mbps and 43.94 Mbps respectively in 4G/5G technology.

In Raipur City- Madhya Pradesh LSA, Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had 100.00 per cent, 98.70 per cent, 100.00 per cent and 100.00 per cent call setup success rate respectively. BSNL has taken comparatively longer time (4.62 second) to establish the voice call, whereas Airtel, Jio and Vi call setup time is 1.28, 0.75 and 0.80 seconds respectively in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had drop call rate of 0.00 per cent, 0.66 per cent, 0.31 per cent and 0.00 per cent respectively in auto selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). In packet switched network (4G/5G), Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had silence call rate of 1.03 per cent, 2.57 per cent, 0.21 and 0.84 per cent respectively. Quality of speech of Airtel (3.99), BSNL (2.94), Jio (3.88) and Vi (3.96) is less than four.

Meanwhile, BSNL (4.06 Mbps) and Vi (43.82 Mbps) operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average download speed. Whereas, Airtel and Jio had average download speed of 109.92 Mbps and 253.76 Mbps respectively in 4G/5G technology. BSNL (2.48 Mbps) and Vi (19.86 Mbps) operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average upload speed. Whereas, Airtel and Jio had average upload speed of 32.27 Mbps and 24.91 Mbps respectively in 4G/5G.

In Siliguri City, Darjeeling and Kalimpong Districts- West Bengal LSA, Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had 98.55 per cent, 88.65 per cent, 98.60 per cent and 95.54 per cent call setup success rate respectively. BSNL has taken comparatively longer time (2.78 second) to establish the voice call, whereas Airtel, Jio and Vi call setup time is 2.27, 1.28 and 1.68 seconds respectively in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). BSNL, Jio, Vi call drop rate of 6.56 per cent, 2.69 per cent and 2.41 per cent is higher (QoS benchmark of 2 per cent), while Airtel has drop call rate of 0.15 per cent in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). In packet switched network (4G/5G), Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had silence call rate of 6.58 per cent, 0.91 per cent, 8.11 per cent and 8.38 per cent respectively. Quality of speech of Vi (4.22) had a MOS score more than four, whereas Airtel (3.78), BSNL (2.16 and JIO (3.68) had MOS score less than four.

Further, BSNL (1.92 Mbps) and Vi (21.88 Mbps) operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average download speed. While Airtel and Jio had average download data speed of 82.61 Mbps and 110.99 Mbps 4G/5G technology respectively. BSNL (1.61 Mbps) and Vi (5.18 Mbps) operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average upload speed. While Airtel and Jio had average upload speed of 13.44 Mbps and 12.10 Mbps respectively in 4G/5G technology.

In Thiruvananthapuram City, Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam via Parassala and Kottarakkara and Kollam to Thiruvananthapuram Highway and Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulum Rail Route, Kerala LSA), Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had 99.86 per cent, 99.14 per cent, 99.86 per cent and 99.58 per cent call setup success rate respectively. BSNL has taken comparatively longer time (4.23 seconds) to establish the voice call, whereas Airtel, Jio and Vi call setup time is 1.24, 0.57 and 1.07 second respectively in open mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). BSNL’s overall call drop rate (3.61 per cent) is higher (QoS benchmark of 2 per cent), while Airtel, Jio and Vi had call drop rate of 0.00 per cent, 0.84 and 0.71 per cent respectively. In packet switched network (4G/5G) Airtel, Jio and Vi had silence call rate of 0.53 per cent, 0.00 and 3.39 per cent respectively. Quality of speech of Vi (4.47) and Airtel (4.06) had MOS score more than four, whereas BSNL (2.77) and Jio (3.95) had a MOS score less than four.

Furthermore, BSNL (7.72 Mbps) and Vi (19.50 Mbps) operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average download speed. While Airtel and Jio had average download data speed of 102.71 Mbps and 282.86 Mbps in 4G/5G technology. BSNL (4.54 Mbps) and Vi (11.12 Mbps) operating on 4G/3G technologies, had comparatively lower average upload speed. While Airtel and Jio had average upload speed of 18.17 Mbps and 24.95 Mbps respectively in 4G/5G technology.

In Vapi to Rewari National Highways, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana LSA, Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi had call setup success rate of 99.42 per cent, 76.96 per cent, 99.43 per cent and 94.01 per cent respectively. BSNL has taken comparatively longer time (2.70 seconds) to establish the voice call, whereas Airtel, Jio and Vi call setup time is 1.66, 1.75 and 1.40 second respectively in open mode (5G/4G/3G/2G). BSNL (14.17 per cent) and Vi (2.99 per cent) had higher call drop rate (QoS benchmark of 2 per cent), while Airtel and Jio had call drop rate of 0.78 per cent and 0.77 per cent respectively. In packet switched network (4G/5G) Airtel, BSNL, Jio and Vi and had 2.40 per cent, 5.57 per cent, 1.39 per cent, and 2.56 per cent silence call rate respectively. Quality of speech of Vi (4.38) had a MOS score more than four, whereas Airtel (3.94), BSNL (2.81) and Jio (3.92) had MOS score less than four.

In addition, BSNL (6.22 Mbps) and Vi (34.61 Mbps) operating on 4G/3G technologies had comparatively lower average download speed. Whereas, Airtel and Jio had average download data speed of 147.27 Mbps and 306.50 Mbps in 4G/5G technology. BSNL (3.25 Mbps) and Vi (13.32 Mbps) operating on 4G/3G technologies had comparatively lower upload speeds. Whereas Airtel and Jio had average upload data speeds of 23.70 Mbps and 31.08 Mbps respectively in 4G/5G technology.