The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released findings from an Independent Drive Test conducted in September 2026 to assess mobile network quality along the 515.9 km railway route between New Tinsukia and Guwahati Railway stations in Assam. The assessment covered voice and data services provided by all major telecom service providers, evaluating key Quality of Service parameters including coverage gaps, call drop rates, call setup success rates, and data throughput performance.
The drive test was conducted on 11th September 2026 under the supervision of TRAI Regional Office Kolkata, using multiple advanced test handsets to establish live data and voice sessions across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks. The testing covered both railway routes and two hotspot locations at Guwahati Railway Station and New Tinsukia Railway Station to capture both mobile and stationary user experiences.
Coverage gap analysis revealed significant variations among providers: Airtel showed 14.7% poor signal samples (4,754 out of 32,385), BSNL 48.6% (12,486 out of 25,698), RJIL 14.4% (4,808 out of 33,296), and VIL 46.7% (12,738 out of 27,285). Call drop rates varied substantially, with Airtel at 3.0% (5 drops out of 166 established calls), BSNL at 31.7% (65/205), RJIL at 5.1% (9/175), and VIL at 20.7% (34/164).
Data performance metrics showed RJIL leading with average download speeds of 110.82 Mbps (5G/4G) and upload speeds of 8.29 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 42.71 Mbps download and 11.75 Mbps upload. VIL recorded 15.69 Mbps download and 5.46 Mbps upload, while BSNL showed the lowest performance at 5.00 Mbps download and 3.25 Mbps upload, using 4G/2G technologies.
The railway route testing covered New Tinsukia to Guwahati passing through Simaluguri Junction, Mariani Junction, Furkating Junction, Dimapur, Diphu, and Lumding Junction. The findings have been shared with respective telecom service providers for necessary corrective actions, and detailed reports are available on the TRAI website at www.trai.gov.in.