**Executive Summary**
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its Independent Drive Test (IDT) findings for the Jammu & Kashmir Licensed Service Area, following tests conducted between February 2nd and 5th, 2026. The report evaluates the 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G network performance of Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, and VIL across Jammu City and the Delhi-Jammu highway. Findings regarding Quality of Service (QoS) failures and benchmarks have been shared with the relevant Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for necessary action.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Scope and Methodology**
* The assessment covered 178.2 km of city routes, 620.5 km of highway routes, 06 hotspots, and 3.5 km of pedestrian walk tests.
* Testing environments included high-density neighborhoods (e.g., Gandhi Nagar, Prem Nagar), transit hubs (Jammu Tawi Railway Station, Bus Stand), and high-speed highway corridors via Ambala and Jalandhar.
* Performance was measured using standardized protocols and TRAI-suggested equipment to capture real-time user experience across multiple handset capabilities.
* **Voice Service Performance**
* **Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR):** VIL (99.26%), RJIL (99.12%), and Airtel (98.83%) performed strongly, while BSNL recorded a lower success rate of 81.62%.
* **Drop Call Rate (DCR):** VIL maintained the lowest drop rate at 0.60%, followed by Airtel (0.74%) and RJIL (1.18%). BSNL exceeded others with a drop rate of 7.87%.
* **Call Setup Time:** RJIL achieved the fastest setup at 0.66 seconds, whereas BSNL was the slowest at 4.05 seconds.
* **Speech Quality (MOS):** RJIL recorded the highest Mean Opinion Score of 4.43, indicating superior voice clarity.
* **Data Service Performance**
* **Download Speeds:** RJIL led overall average download speeds at 295.90 Mbps (5G/4G), followed by Airtel at 179.53 Mbps. BSNL recorded the lowest average at 11.30 Mbps.
* **Upload Speeds:** RJIL and Airtel showed comparable performance at approximately 30.50 Mbps and 30.09 Mbps respectively, while BSNL averaged 3.86 Mbps.
* **Latency:** RJIL recorded the lowest latency (22.84 ms), while VIL recorded the highest (43.38 ms).
* **5G Hotspot Performance:** In specific hotspot locations, RJIL’s 5G download speeds reached 298.52 Mbps, compared to Airtel’s 178.53 Mbps.
**Impact Analysis**
**Telecom Service Providers (Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, VIL)**
**Impact**
Operators are held accountable for their service quality across urban and transit environments. The data highlights specific areas of underperformance, such as BSNL’s high drop call rate and VIL’s high latency.
**Action Required**
TSPs must review the IDT findings already communicated to them and take corrective measures to align their network performance with required QoS parameters.
**Mobile Network Users in J&K LSA**
**Impact**
Users are provided with transparent, comparative data on which operators provide the most reliable voice and data services in Jammu City and on high-speed transit routes.
**Action Required**
Users can utilize these findings to make informed decisions regarding their choice of service provider based on regional performance metrics.
**TRAI Regional Office, Delhi**
**Impact**
The authority has successfully mapped real-time network behavior, providing a baseline for regulatory oversight in the J&K region.
**Action Required**
The Regional Office, via Advisor Shri Vivek Khare, remains the point of contact for further clarifications and continued monitoring of TSP improvements.
Key Entities Referenced
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): The primary regulatory body responsible for monitoring and assessing mobile network quality and Quality of Service (QoS) parameters.
Independent Drive Test (IDT): The specific initiative and methodology used to capture real-time performance data for voice and data services across 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies.
J&K Licensed Service Area (LSA): The specific regional jurisdiction and geographic scope in which the mobile network performance assessments were conducted.
Telecom Service Providers (TSPs): The regulated entities, including Airtel, BSNL, RJIL (Jio), and VIL (Vodafone Idea), whose network performance was evaluated against benchmark standards.
Delhi to Jammu Highway Route: A primary high-speed transit corridor, including Ambala and Jalandhar, central to the assessment of mobile network behavior in transit.
Ministry of Communications
TRAI Assesses Network Quality Across Jammu
City and Highway Route from Delhi to Jammu
Posted On: 24 MAR 2026 11:43AM by PIB Delhi
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its Independent Drive Test (IDT) findings for
the J&K Licensed Service Area (LSA), covering extensive city routes during the month of Feb. 2026. The
drive tests, conducted under the supervision of the TRAI Regional Office, Delhi, were designed to capture
real-time mobile network performance across diverse usage environments—urban zones, institutional
hotspots, public transport hubs, and high-speed corridors.
Between 02nd February 2026 to 05th February 2026, TRAI teams conducted detailed tests across 178.2
km of City Drive Test, 620.5 km of Highway Drive Test, 06 Hotspot locations, 3.5 km of Walk test & Inter
Operator Calling at 01 location. Technologies evaluated included 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G, reflecting the
service experience of users across multiple handset capabilities. The findings of IDT have already been
intimated to all the TSPs concerned.
Key Parameters Assessed:
a) Voice Services: Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), Call Setup Time, Call Silence
Rate, Speech Quality (MOS), Coverage.
b) Data Services: Download/Upload Throughput, Latency, Jitter, Packet Drop Rate and Video Streaming
Delay.
Call Setup Success Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have 98.83%, 81.62%, 99.12% and 99.26% call
setup success rate respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Drop Call Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have drop call rate of 0.74%, 7.87%, 1.18% and 0.60%
respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Performance against key QoS parameters
CSSR: Call Setup Success Rate (in %), CST: Call Setup Time (in seconds), DCR: Drop Call Rate (in %)
& MOS: Mean Opinion Score.Summary-Voice services
Call Setup Success Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have 98.83%, 81.62%, 99.12% and 99.26% call
setup success rate respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Call Setup Time: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have call setup time of 1.40, 4.05, 0.66 and 0.94
seconds respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Drop Call Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have drop call rate of 0.74%, 7.87%, 1.18% and 0.60%
respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Call Silence/Mute Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have silence call rate 0.71%, 6.83%, 0.53% and
1.40% respectively in packet switched network (4G/5G).
Mean Opinion Score (MOS): Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have average MOS of 3.96, 3.07, 4.43 and
3.83 respectively.
Summary-Data services
Data Download performance (Overall): Average download speed of Airtel (5G/4G/2G) is 179.53
Mbps, BSNL (4G/3G/2G) is 11.30 Mbps, RJIL (5G/4G) is 295.90 Mbps and VIL (5G/4G/2G) is 25.34
Mbps.
Data Upload performance (Overall): Average upload speed of Airtel (5G/4G/2G) is 30.09 Mbps,
BSNL (4G/3G/2G) is 3.86 Mbps, RJIL (5G/4G) is 30.50 Mbps and VIL (5G/4G/2G) is 16.39 Mbps.
Latency (Overall): Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL 50th percentile latency is 27.94 ms, 29.72 ms, 22.84
ms, 43.38 ms respectively.
Data performance - Hotspots (in Mbps):
Airtel- 4G D/L: 35.93 4G U/L: 10.01
5G D/L: 178.53 5G U/L: 47.22
BSNL- 4G D/L: 13.08 4G U/L: 5.44
RJIL - 4G D/L: 41.57 4G U/L: 9.23
5G D/L: 298.52 5G U/L: 37.97
VIL - 4G D/L: 25.07 4G U/L: 10.81
Note- “D/L” Download speed, “U/L” Upload speed
The assessment in Jammu City included high-density neighborhoods such as Prem Nagar, Gandhi Nagar,
Shastri Nagar, Miran Saheb, Gho Manhasan, Raipur Domana, Narwal, etc. TRAI also evaluated real-time
conditions at Govt. Medical College Jammu, Jammu Bus Stand, Jammu Tawi Railway Station, Jewel
Chowk Jammu, Raghunath Temple Jammu, and Satwari Chowk Jammu.
The walk test, conducted on 05th February 2026 in Jammu City, focused on Gole Market Jammu and Hari
Market Jammu, capturing mobile network behavior in crowded pedestrian environments.
The highway routes were also conducted from Delhi to Jammu via Ambala & Jalandhar to assess the
mobile network experience in high-speed transit.The tests were conducted using TRAI-suggested equipment and standardized protocols in real-time
environments. The detailed report is available at the TRAI website www.trai.gov.in. For any
clarification/information, Shri Vivek Khare, Advisor (Regional Office, Delhi) TRAI, may be contacted by
email: adv.ca@trai.gov.in or at Tel. No. +91-11-20907772.
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