Date: 2026-01-22Category: Press ReleaseState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
TRAI Assesses Network Quality Across Katra and Udhampur Cities and Highway Route from Katra to Udhampur via Sen Brahmana & Nagrota, and Railway Route from Delhi to Katra
**Executive Summary**
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its Independent Drive Test (IDT) findings for the J&K Licensed Service Area (LSA) for December 2025. The tests covered highways, cities and railways, assessing network performance across various environments. The findings have been communicated to all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs). The detailed report is available on the TRAI website.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Drive Test Scope:**
* Areas covered: Katra and Udhampur cities, the highway route from Katra to Udhampur, and the railway route from New Delhi to Katra.
* Environments: Urban zones, institutional hotspots, public transport hubs, and high-speed corridors.
* Technologies assessed: 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G.
* **Key Parameters Assessed:**
* Voice Services: Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), Call Setup Time, Call Silence Rate, Speech Quality (MOS), Coverage.
* Data Services: Download/Upload Throughput, Latency, Jitter, Packet Drop Rate, and Video Streaming Delay.
* **Voice Service Performance (Auto-Selection Mode):**
* Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR): Airtel (97.28%), BSNL (82.65%), RJIL (98.39%), VIL (93.11%).
* Drop Call Rate (DCR): Airtel (3.46%), BSNL (11.36%), RJIL (2.45%), VIL (2.69%).
* Call Setup Time: Airtel (1.56 seconds), BSNL (3.38 seconds), RJIL (0.80 seconds), VIL (1.14 seconds).
* Call Silence/Mute Rate (4G/5G Packet Switched Network): Airtel (1.55%), BSNL (3.86%), RJIL (1.26%), VIL (0.99%).
* Mean Opinion Score (MOS): Airtel (4.00), BSNL (2.83), RJIL (4.44), VIL (3.74).
* **Data Service Performance (Overall):**
* Average Download Speed: Airtel (114.63 Mbps), BSNL (4.70 Mbps), RJIL (216.24 Mbps), VIL (17.00 Mbps).
* Average Upload Speed: Airtel (18.74 Mbps), BSNL (2.01 Mbps), RJIL (21.60 Mbps), VIL (9.59 Mbps).
* 50th Percentile Latency: Airtel (30.72 ms), BSNL (31.46 ms), RJIL (27.02 ms), VIL (30.21 ms).
* **Data Performance at Hotspots (Mbps):**
* Airtel: 4G D/L (28.82), 4G U/L (9.26), 5G D/L (116.92), 5G U/L (30.73)
* BSNL: 4G D/L (8.58), 4G U/L (4.49)
* RJIL: 4G D/L (35.17), 4G U/L (8.07), 5G D/L (197.79), 5G U/L (22.27)
* VIL: 4G D/L (17.82), 4G U/L (13.35)
* **Areas Evaluated:**
* High-density neighborhoods in Katra and Udhampur
* Bus Stand Katra, Court Complex Udhampur, Katra Railway Station, Patnitop, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University & Udhampur Bus Stand
* Goal Market Udhampur Old/New Market Katra during walk test.
* Highway route from Katra to Udhampur.
* Railway route from New Delhi to Katra.
**Impact Analysis**
**Telecom Service Providers (Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, VIL)**
* **Impact**: The report highlights areas where their network performance excels or needs improvement in the J&K LSA.
* **Action Required**: Analyze the findings to identify areas for network optimization and implement necessary upgrades to meet TRAI's QoS parameters.
**Consumers in the J&K Licensed Service Area**
* **Impact**: The report provides insights into the real-world performance of mobile networks, informing their choice of service provider.
* **Action Required**: Review the report to make informed decisions about selecting a service provider based on their network performance in the areas they frequent.
Key Entities Referenced
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): The regulator that released the Independent Drive Test (IDT) findings and conducted the tests to capture real-world mobile network performance.
Katra and Udhampur: Cities where network quality was assessed, including highway and railway routes to and from them.
Ministry of Communications
TRAI Assesses Network Quality Across Katra and
Udhampur Cities and Highway Route from Katra
to Udhampur via Sen Brahmana & Nagrota, and
Railway Route from Delhi to Katra
प्रव तथ: 22 JAN 2026 2:13PM 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 Highway, City & Railway routes during the
month of Dec 2025. The drive tests, conducted under the supervision of the TRAI Regional Office, Delhi,
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 08th December 2025 to 11th December 2025, TRAI teams conducted detailed tests across 209.0
km of City Drive Test, 06 Hotspot locations, 7.1 km of walk test, 43.7 kms of Highway Drive Test, Inter
Operator Calling at 01 location and 654.0 kms of Railway Drive Test between New Delhi to Katra.
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 97.28%, 82.65%, 98.39% and 93.11% 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 3.46%, 11.36%, 2.45% and 2.69%
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 97.28%, 82.65%, 98.39% and 93.11%,
call setup success rate respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Call Setup Time: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL & VIL have call setup time of 1.56, 3.38, 0.80 and 1.14 seconds
respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Drop Call Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have drop call rate 3.46%, 11.36%, 2.45% and 2.69%
respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Call Silence/Mute Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have silence call rate 1.55%, 3.86%, 1.26% and
0.99% respectively in packet switched network (4G/5G).
Mean Opinion Score (MOS): Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have average MOS of 4.00, 2.83, 4.44 and
3.74 respectively.Summary-Data services
Data Download performance (Overall): Average download speed of Airtel (5G/4G/2G) is 114.63
Mbps, BSNL (4G/3G/2G) is 4.70 Mbps, RJIL (5G/4G) is 216.24 Mbps and VIL (5G/4G/2G) is 17.00
Mbps.
Data Upload performance (Overall): Average upload speed of Airtel (5G/4G/2G) is 18.74 Mbps,
BSNL (4G/3G/2G) is 2.01 Mbps, RJIL (5G/4G) is 21.60 Mbps and VIL (5G/4G/2G) is 9.59 Mbps.
Latency (Overall): Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL 50th percentile latency is 30.72 ms, 31.46 ms, 27.02
ms, 30.21 ms respectively.
Data performance - Hotspots (in Mbps):
Airtel- 4G D/L: 28.82 4G U/L: 9.26
5G D/L: 116.92 5G U/L: 30.73
BSNL- 4G D/L: 8.58 4G U/L: 4.49
RJIL- 4G D/L: 35.17 4G U/L: 8.07
5G D/L: 197.79 5G U/L: 22.27
VIL- 4G D/L: 17.82 4G U/L:13.35
Note- “D/L” Download speed, “U/L” Upload speed
The assessment in Katra and Udhampur cities included high-density neighbourhoods such as Katra
Railway colony, Sumdrani, Kotla, Dheer, Arli Hansali, Chack Rakwalan, Himbra, Garhi, Ladan, Rakh
Thanua, Mohar, Tordi, Mada, Sanget, Kud and Patnitop etc. TRAI also evaluated real-world conditions at
Bus Stand Katra, Court Complex Udhampur, Katra Railway Station, Patnitop, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi
University & Udhampur Bus Stand.
The walk test, conducted on 10th December 2025 & 11th December 2025 in Katra & Udhampur City,
focused on, Goal Market Udhampur Old/New Market Katra, capturing mobile network behaviour in
crowded pedestrian environments.
The highway route was also conducted from Katra to Udhampur passing through Sen Brahmana, Kapad
Chang, Nagrota, Barial and Sewali etc. to assess the mobile network experience in high-speed transit.
The railway route was also conducted from New Delhi to Katra passing through Ambla Cantt Jn,
Ludhiana Jn, Kathua, Jammu Tawi & Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan to assess the mobile network
experience in high-speed transit.
The tests were conducted using TRAI suggested equipment and standardised protocols in real-time
environments. The detailed report is available at TRAI website www.trai.gov.in. For any
clarification/information, Shri Vivek Khare, Advisor (Regional Office, Delhi) TRAI may be contacted on
email: adv.ca@trai.gov.in or at Tel. No. +91-11-20907772.
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