The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released findings from an Independent Drive Test conducted on May 2, 2026, covering 62.2 kilometers of the Manoharpur to Dausa National Highway (NH-148) in Rajasthan. The test assessed mobile network quality for voice and data services provided by four Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) - Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, and VIL - using advanced test handsets and real-time monitoring systems under the supervision of TRAI's Regional Office Jaipur.
Key Performance Metrics
Coverage gap analysis revealed significant disparities among providers. Airtel showed 217 out of 4080 samples (5.3%) with poor signal strength, while BSNL demonstrated the poorest coverage with 2213 out of 3338 samples (66.3%) having poor signal strength and an additional 450 samples with no coverage. RJIL had 189 out of 4072 samples (4.6%) with poor signal, and VIL showed 420 out of 3898 samples (10.8%) with poor signal strength plus 156 samples with no coverage. Signal strength was considered poor below −110 dBm for 5G & 4G, −90 dBm for 3G, and −85 dBm for 2G.
Call drop rates varied considerably across providers. Airtel had zero dropped calls out of 20 established calls (0% drop rate), while BSNL showed 6 dropped calls out of 18 established calls (33.3% drop rate). RJIL had 1 dropped call out of 21 established calls (4.8% drop rate), and VIL had 2 dropped calls out of 21 established calls (9.5% drop rate).
Call silence instances (silence >3 seconds) were recorded for three providers. Airtel had 2 silence instances across 21 established calls, RJIL had 3 silence instances across 21 established calls, while VIL had zero silence instances across 20 established calls. BSNL's 4G coverage was unavailable on the highway, making call silence instance measurement not applicable.
Data Performance Results
Data download throughput showed dramatic performance differences. RJIL delivered the highest average download speed at 247.01 Mbps (against declared typical of 15 Mbps), followed by Airtel at 102.80 Mbps (against declared typical of 1.14 Mbps). VIL achieved 35.97 Mbps (against declared typical of 15 Mbps), while BSNL showed the poorest performance at 3.99 Mbps (against declared typical of 5 Mbps).
Upload throughput performance also varied significantly. Airtel achieved 20.93 Mbps (against declared typical of 6.46 Mbps), RJIL delivered 19.14 Mbps (against declared typical of 7 Mbps), VIL achieved 17.25 Mbps (against declared typical of 8 Mbps), while BSNL showed the weakest performance at 1.88 Mbps (against declared typical of 3 Mbps).
The drive test route passed through multiple locations including Lakher, Nekawala, Chilpali Mod, Bahlor, Raisar, Pawta, Sankotra, Aandhi, Ramjipura, and Jhera. TRAI has shared these findings with respective TSPs for necessary corrective actions and made the detailed report available on their website (www.trai.gov.in) for public access. The Regional Office in Jaipur can be contacted for clarifications at adv.jaipur@trai.gov.in or telephone 0141-2701919.