Key Points

According to a release from the Ministry of Communications, the drive tests, conducted under the supervision of the TRAI Regional Office, Bengaluru, were designed to capture real-world mobile network performance across diverse usage environments - Urban Zones, Institutional Hotspots, Public Transport Hubs, and high-speed Corridors.

Between August 5 2025, and August 8 2025, TRAI teams conducted detailed tests across 249.5 Kms of City drive, 261 Kms of Highway, 10.5 Kms Walk Test and 09 Hot spot locations. Technologies evaluated included 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G, reflecting the service experience of users across multiple handset capabilities. The findings of IDT have been intimated to all the TSPs concerned for further necessary action.

The key parameters assessed include both voice and data services. For "voice services", the parameters examined were Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), Call Setup Time, Call Silence Rate, Speech Quality (MOS), and Coverage. For "data services", the parameters evaluated included Download and Upload Throughput, Latency, Jitter, Packet Drop Rate, and Video Streaming Delay.

In Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G), the "Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR)" for Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, and VIL stands at 93.30%, 87.88%, 99.64%, and 86.11% respectively. Meanwhile, the "Drop Call Rate (DCR)" for the same operators is 1.66% for Airtel, 4.96% for BSNL, 0.71% for RJIL, and 2.09% for VIL, the release stated.

For the Call Silence/Mute Rate in packet-switched networks (4G/5G), Airtel registered 1.69%, BSNL 5.76%, RJIL 4.95%, and VIL 6.18%. The Mean Opinion Score (MOS), which reflects voice quality, averaged 3.94 for Airtel, 3.02 for BSNL, 3.75 for RJIL, and 3.78 for VIL, it stated.

As per the release, the overall "data download performance" shows Airtel (5G/4G/2G) averaging 141.74 Mbps, BSNL (4G/3G/2G) 1.33 Mbps, RJIL (5G/4G) 244.78 Mbps, and VIL (4G/2G) 20.62 Mbps. In terms of "data upload performance", Airtel recorded 40.25 Mbps, BSNL 2.70 Mbps, RJIL 25.41 Mbps, and VIL 13.62 Mbps. For "latency (50th percentile)," Airtel stood at 23.80 ms, BSNL 51.00 ms, RJIL 22.80 ms, and VIL 27.60 ms.

Data performance at "hotspots" further highlights the speed variations: Airtel achieved 53.39 Mbps download and 20.41 Mbps upload on 4G, and 177.98 Mbps download with 57.92 Mbps upload on 5G. BSNL recorded 1.72 Mbps download and 4.45 Mbps upload on 4G. RJIL delivered 31.54 Mbps download and 6.34 Mbps upload on 4G, while its 5G speeds reached 354.49 Mbps download and 31.01 Mbps upload. VIL showed 31.65 Mbps download and 26.32 Mbps upload on 4G, the release stated.

In Hubballi city, the assessment included high-density neighbourhoods like Kavalgeri, Dharwad, Kelgeri, Gulaganjikoppa, Malmaddi, Saptapur, Gandhi Nagar, Sattur Colony, Amargol, Rajnagar, Keshwapur, Durgad Bail, Kasugal, Hebsur, Byahatti, Shivahalli, Revadihal and Yerikoppa etc.

TRAI also evaluated real-world conditions at APMC Market Hubballi, Chandramouleshwara Temple Unkal Hubballi, Deputy Commissioner's office Dharwad, High Court Bench Dharwad, Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), KIMS Hospital Hubballi, KSRTC Bus Stand Hubballi, RTO office Dharwad and Saptapur Circle Dharwad to reflect the stationary user experience.

The walk tests, conducted on August 5 and 7 2025 in Hubballi City, focused on Hubballi Railway Junction, KSRTC Old Bus Stand Dharwad, Unakal Lake and University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad, capturing mobile network behaviour in crowded pedestrian environments.

The highway drive test was covered from Hubballi to Haveri, Sirsi, and Yellapur, passing through Gabbur, Pale, Varur, Tadas Cross, Jigalur, Shiggaon, Aladakatti, Gourapura, Sangur, Balambeed, Goudalli, Sirsi, Agsal, Sonda, Chawadi and Yellapur Devikoppa, etc, covering the NH and SH.

The tests were conducted using TRAI-calibrated equipment and standardised protocols in real-time environments.

- ANI