TRAI Assesses Mobile Network Quality in UPE LSA Cities

TRAI Mobile Network Quality Assessment for UPE LSA Cities

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released findings from an Independent Drive Test (IDT) conducted during September 7-10, 2026, across Gonda, Bahraich, Shravasti, and Balrampur cities, as well as the Prayagraj to Gonda and Gonda to Bahraich highways in the UPE LSA. The testing was supervised by TRAI's Regional Office in Bhopal and aimed to assess real-time quality of mobile network services (voice and data) provided by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to inform consumers and encourage service improvements.

The drive test covered 367.7 kilometers across the four cities, 256 kilometers on highways, and 2.7 kilometers of walk tests in Gonda and Balrampur. Specific areas tested included numerous neighborhoods in each city, key hotspots such as district courts, hospitals, bus stands, colleges, and railway stations, and highway segments passing through multiple towns.

Key Performance Metrics

Coverage gap analysis measured the percentage of samples with signal strength below minimum prescribed levels for respective technologies. In Gonda City, Airtel showed 818 poor samples out of 19,284 total; BSNL 7,289/16,823; RJIL 919/18,995; and VIL 1,775/19,266. Bahraich City results were Airtel 485/23,477; BSNL 11,807/19,472; RJIL 1,796/23,226; and VIL 1,369/23,442. Balrampur City showed Airtel 114/8,605; BSNL 3,271/7,994; RJIL 411/8,466; and VIL 159/8,666.

Drop call rates measured dropped calls against successfully established calls. Gonda City: Airtel 1/171, BSNL 23/162, RJIL 0/171, VIL 0/171. Bahraich City: Airtel 1/205, BSNL 6/159, RJIL 0/206, VIL 1/205. Balrampur City: Airtel 2/78, BSNL 2/72, RJIL 0/78, VIL 0/78.

Call silence instances (silence >3 seconds) per established calls. Gonda City: Airtel 2/161, RJIL 6/166, VIL 8/165. Bahraich City: Airtel 0/196, RJIL 10/200, VIL 1/199. Balrampur City: Airtel 1/73, RJIL 2/74, VIL 0/73.

Data download throughput performance showed significant variation by operator and technology. Gonda City: Airtel (5G) 94.98 Mbps, BSNL (4G) 1.15 Mbps, RJIL (5G) 167.44 Mbps, VIL (5G) 34.31 Mbps. Bahraich City: Airtel (5G) 105.94 Mbps, BSNL (4G) 7.30 Mbps, RJIL (5G) 146.74 Mbps, VIL (5G) 41.12 Mbps. Balrampur City: Airtel (5G) 130.93 Mbps, BSNL (4G) 4.09 Mbps, RJIL (5G) 167.93 Mbps, VIL (4G) 31.66 Mbps.

Data upload throughput performance followed similar patterns. Gonda City: Airtel (5G) 14.59 Mbps, BSNL (4G) 1.86 Mbps, RJIL (5G) 18.94 Mbps, VIL (5G) 9.53 Mbps. Bahraich City: Airtel (5G) 17.60 Mbps, BSNL (4G) 2.88 Mbps, RJIL (5G) 12.09 Mbps, VIL (5G) 11.86 Mbps. Balrampur City: Airtel (5G) 21.40 Mbps, BSNL (4G) 2.16 Mbps, RJIL (5G) 16.90 Mbps, VIL (4G) 12.79 Mbps.

The report includes detailed maps showing coverage gaps, dropped call locations, and call silence instance locations, with specific annexures providing visual representation of performance across the tested routes and areas.