TRAI Mobile Network Quality Assessment for Gorakhpur Region
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released findings from an Independent Drive Test (IDT) conducted across Gorakhpur City and the Lucknow to Gorakhpur Railway route during May 4-8, 2026, under the supervision of TRAI Regional Office Bhopal. The assessment covered 342.1 km of city drives, 296.3 km of railway routes, 11 hotspot locations, and 3.7 km of walk tests, using multiple advanced test handsets to establish live data and voice sessions across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks of all major telecom service providers.
Gorakhpur City Performance Metrics
Coverage gap analysis revealed BSNL had the highest poor signal instances with 13,582 out of 48,601 samples (27.9%), while RJIL showed the best coverage with only 623 poor signals out of 50,514 samples (1.2%). Airtel recorded 589 poor signals out of 51,058 samples (1.2%), and VIL had 569 out of 50,572 samples (1.1%). For dropped calls, BSNL experienced the highest rate with 22 drops out of 431 established calls (5.1%), while Airtel had only 1 drop out of 453 calls (0.2%). RJIL recorded 2 drops out of 454 calls (0.4%), and VIL had 4 drops out of 453 calls (0.9%).
Call silence instances (>3 seconds) were most frequent for Airtel and VIL (18 instances each), while RJIL had only 6 instances. BSNL data was not available for this parameter. Data performance showed RJIL leading with average download speeds of 204.44 Mbps (significantly exceeding their declared 15 Mbps) and upload speeds of 19.74 Mbps. Airtel achieved 116.48 Mbps download (vs declared 49 Mbps) and 21.49 Mbps upload (vs declared 8 Mbps). VIL recorded 64.50 Mbps download (vs declared 15 Mbps) and 14.83 Mbps upload (vs declared 8 Mbps). BSNL, limited to 4G, showed 5.54 Mbps download (vs declared 3.46 Mbps) and 2.67 Mbps upload (vs declared 2.64 Mbps).
Lucknow-Gorakhpur Railway Route Performance
Coverage gaps were more pronounced on the railway route, with BSNL showing 6,247 poor signals out of 13,622 samples (45.9%). RJIL maintained the best coverage with only 450 poor signals out of 15,645 samples (2.9%). Airtel had 1,011 poor signals out of 15,568 samples (6.5%), and VIL recorded 1,163 out of 15,449 samples (7.5%). Dropped calls were significantly higher for BSNL with 25 drops out of 78 calls (32.1%), while other operators showed much lower rates: Airtel (2/81, 2.5%), RJIL (4/82, 4.9%), and VIL (2/79, 2.5%).
Data performance on the railway route showed RJIL leading with 66.38 Mbps download (vs declared 15 Mbps) and 10.79 Mbps upload (vs declared 7 Mbps). Airtel achieved 38.73 Mbps download (vs declared 49 Mbps) and 10.28 Mbps upload (vs declared 8 Mbps). VIL recorded 28.51 Mbps download (vs declared 15 Mbps) and 7.56 Mbps upload (vs declared 8 Mbps). BSNL showed 5.53 Mbps download (vs declared 3.46 Mbps) and 3.05 Mbps upload (vs declared 2.64 Mbps).
Test Methodology and Coverage Areas
The drive test covered specific areas including Gorakhnath, Jhungiya, Ratanpur, Pipraich, Rampur Buzurg, Bhathat, Mangalpur, Delhi Public School, Govindpur, Kaalesar, Belghat, Madapar, Gorakhpur Airport, Taramandal, Ramjanki Nagar, and Shahpur. Hotspot testing included All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Baba Raghav Das Medical College, Gorakhnath Temple, Gorakhpur Junction, HP Petrol Pump Bus Station, Maharana Pratap Polytechnic, Mahatma Gandhi Post Graduate College, Mahayogi Gorakhnath University, MMM University of Technology, and Orion Mall. Walk tests covered Ambedkar Park, Nauka Vihar Ramgarh Tal, and Vijay Chowk Market Area on May 7, 2026. The railway route test on May 4, 2026, covered Lucknow to Gorakhpur passing through Barabanki, Rudauli, Ayodhya, Mankapur, Basti, and Khalilabad.
The findings have been shared with respective telecom service providers for necessary corrective actions, and detailed reports are available on the TRAI website (www.trai.gov.in). For clarifications, contact TRAI Regional Office Bhopal at +91-755-2575501 or adv.bhopal@trai.gov.in.