The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released findings from Independent Drive Tests (IDTs) conducted in May 2025 across thirteen cities and associated highway, railway, and coastal corridors spanning eight Licensed Service Areas (LSAs). These evaluations, aimed at assessing real-time Quality of Service (QoS) in diverse field environments, included Ranchi City and Latehar District, Ahmedabad City and the Ahmedabad–Bhavnagar railway route, Ghogha Port in Bhavnagar, Panipat City, Una and Mandi City, Chikmagaluru City, Chennai City, Ayodhya City, Moradabad City, and the Dehradun–Badrinath highway.
The tests were conducted using calibrated equipment under TRAI supervision by an appointed agency, covering mobile networks of Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, and BSNL across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies in both auto-selection and locked modes. Evaluations encompassed city drive tests, walk tests, corridor analysis, and hotspot performance across voice and data parameters.
Key voice service parameters assessed included Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), Call Setup Time, Call Silence Rate, Speech Quality (Mean Opinion Score), and Coverage. Data services were tested for Download and Upload Throughput, Latency, Jitter, Packet Drop Rate, and Video Streaming Delay.
Initial findings highlighted Panipat and Ayodhya for superior network performance, particularly in Call Setup Success Rate and low Drop Call Rates. Meanwhile, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Panipat, and Ranchi displayed stronger data throughput speeds. Conversely, Ranchi and Una & Mandi areas recorded elevated Drop Call Rates. CSSR figures for Ahmedabad, Chikmagaluru, Moradabad, and Ranchi fell below the 98% benchmark.
Drive test metrics were compiled over distances ranging from walk test loops of under four kilometres to extensive city and intercity highway and railway segments exceeding several hundred kilometres. For instance, Ahmedabad testing covered 381.7 km within the city, 247.1 km along the railway route to Bhavnagar, and 15.6 km of coastal drive around Ghogha Port. Similarly, Moradabad assessments included 278.3 km within city limits and 325 km on the Dehradun–Badrinath highway.
Detailed performance annexures for each region, including city-level and transit route summaries, have been uploaded on the TRAI website. Stakeholders and the public may access the full report and annexures through . For additional information, contact Advisor (QoS-I) Tejpal Singh via email at adv-qos1@trai.gov.in or phone at +91-11-20907759.
