Telecom Drive Tests Reveal Airtel, Jio Lead in Network Quality Across Indian Cities

Telecom Drive Tests Reveal Airtel, Jio Lead in Network Quality Across Indian Cities
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released reports on April 17 regarding Independent Drive Tests (IDTs) conducted in six Licensed Service Areas (LSAs)—Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, UP-West, Gujarat, and Odisha—during February 2025. These tests, carried out by TRAI through its appointed agency, RedMango Analytics Private Limited, were conducted across key cities in India, including Alappuzha, Dehradun, Shimla, Rajkot, and Hyderabad. The results revealed significant variations in the quality of service (QoS) provided by telecom operators.

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The evaluation focused on critical parameters including call setup success rate, call setup time, drop call rate, and mean opinion score (MOS), offering a clear picture of network performance in diverse geographical settings.

Kerala

In Alappuzha and Alappuzha Backwaters, Airtel and Reliance Jio (RJIL) reported a 100 percent call setup success rate, while BSNL and Vodafone Idea (VIL) followed with 96.46 percent and 98.58 percent, respectively. RJIL led with the fastest call setup time at 0.52 seconds, with Airtel close behind at 1.18 seconds. Airtel recorded average download speed of 183.56 Mbps and Jio recorded 332.98 Mbps on 4G/5G technologies.

UP West

Dehradun reflected a similar trend, where Airtel and RJIL again achieved 100 percent success. VIL recorded 99.80 percent in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G), whereas BSNL lagged significantly at 87.92 percent. Call setup time for BSNL stood at 4.15 seconds, compared to Airtel’s 0.89 seconds. Airtel and RJIL operating on 4G/5G technologies have average download speed of 140.27 Mbps and 273.42 Mbps respectively.

Himachal Pradesh

In the hilly terrain of Shimla, Airtel and RJIL maintained high performance with call setup success rates of 98.55 percent and 98.57 percent, respectively. BSNL and VIL registered lower success rates at 93.79 percent and 90.93 percent. Call setup times ranged from Airtel’s 1.36 seconds to BSNL’s 3.65 seconds. Airtel and RJIL operating on 4G/5G technologies have average download speed of 128.12 Mbps and 165.62 Mbps respectively.