Date: 2026-04-06Category: Press ReleaseState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
TRAI Assesses Network Quality Across North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts and adjoining areas in the State of West Bengal, along National Highway (NH- 12) from Barasat to Raiganj and along Railway route from Howrah to Bardhaman via Bandel, all under West Bengal Licensed Service Area (LSA)
**Executive Summary**
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released Independent Drive Test (IDT) findings assessing mobile network quality in the West Bengal Licensed Service Area from February 10 to February 21, 2026. The report evaluates 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies across North 24 Parganas, Nadia districts, National Highway-12, and the Howrah-Bardhaman railway route. The findings, which highlight significant performance variations among service providers, have been shared with the relevant Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to address service gaps.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Scope and Methodology**
* **Coverage:** The tests spanned 436.3 km of city routes, 363.6 km of highways, 107.3 km of railway routes, and 28 specific hotspot locations.
* **Environment:** Testing included urban zones, institutional hotspots, business areas, residential zones, and passenger experiences along rail and highway routes.
* **Testing Types:** Assessments included city drive tests, highway drive tests, railway drive tests, walk tests, and static testing at 28 key locations such as hospitals, colleges, and railway stations.
**Voice Service Performance**
* **Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR):** RJIL (99.72%) and VIL (99.91%) demonstrated the highest success rates, while BSNL recorded the lowest at 83.79%.
* **Drop Call Rate (DCR):** BSNL exhibited the highest drop rate at 5.85%, significantly lagging behind Airtel, which recorded 0.00%.
* **Call Setup Time:** Performance ranged from a quick 0.62 seconds (RJIL) to 6.33 seconds (BSNL).
* **Speech Quality:** The Mean Opinion Score (MOS) was highest for RJIL (4.52) and lowest for BSNL (3.13).
**Data Service Performance**
* **Download Speeds:** 5G services reached maximum average download speeds of 212.68 Mbps. Overall average speeds were highest for RJIL (212.68 Mbps) and lowest for BSNL (12.50 Mbps).
* **Upload Speeds:** Average upload speeds ranged from 4.06 Mbps (BSNL) to 28.09 Mbps (Airtel).
* **Latency:** The 50th percentile latency varied between 42.29 ms (RJIL) and 56.37 ms (Airtel).
**Signal Strength Observations**
* **Poor Signal Areas:** Significant poor signal strength was observed for BSNL, particularly in city voice testing (34.01%) and railway data testing (35.51%).
* **Top Performers:** Airtel and RJIL maintained the lowest percentages of poor signal strength samples across most categories.
**Impact Analysis**
**Telecom Service Providers (Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, and VIL)**
**Impact**
The TSPs are identified by name regarding their performance against mandatory Quality of Service (QoS) parameters. Providers like BSNL are highlighted for significant deficiencies in call success and signal reliability, while others are noted for 5G performance benchmarks.
**Action Required**
TSPs must review the detailed IDT findings already intimated to them by TRAI. They are expected to utilize this data to optimize network infrastructure and improve service delivery in the identified poor-performing zones, highways, and rail routes.
**Mobile Subscribers and Commuters in West Bengal LSA**
**Impact**
Subscribers in the North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts, as well as travelers on NH-12 and the Howrah-Bardhaman rail line, are directly affected by the recorded variations in voice clarity, call drops, and data throughput.
**Action Required**
No specific action is required from users, though the report provides transparency regarding which providers offer superior 4G and 5G experiences in specific geographical areas.
Key Entities Referenced
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): The primary regulatory body that conducted and released the Independent Drive Test findings regarding mobile network performance.
Independent Drive Test (IDT): The specific assessment initiative used to evaluate real-world mobile network quality across city routes, highways, and railway lines.
West Bengal Licensed Service Area (LSA): The specific telecom regulatory region that defined the geographic scope of the network quality assessment.
North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts, West Bengal: The primary administrative districts in West Bengal where intensive city-route network testing and signal strength evaluations were focused.
Ministry of Communications
TRAI Assesses Network Quality Across North 24
Parganas and Nadia districts and adjoining areas
in the State of West Bengal, along National
Highway (NH- 12) from Barasat to Raiganj and
along Railway route from Howrah to Bardhaman
via Bandel, all under West Bengal Licensed
Service Area (LSA)
Posted On: 06 APR 2026 5:51PM by PIB Delhi
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its Independent Drive Test (IDT) findings for
the West Bengal LSA, covering extensive city routes of North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts and
adjoining areas, highway route of Barasat to Raiganj along NH- 12 and railway route from Howrah to
Bardhaman via Bandel in the month of February 2026. The drive tests, conducted under the supervision of
the TRAI Regional Office, Kolkata, were designed to capture real-world mobile network performance
across diverse usage environments- Urban Zones, Institutional Hotspots, business areas, residential areas,
experience of passengers and others along the rail route etc.
Between 10th February 2026 and 21st February 2026, TRAI teams conduced detailed tests across city
routes of North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts and adjoining areas, highway route of Barasat to Raiganj
along NH- 12 and railway route from Howrah to Bardhaman via Bandel in West Bengal LSA covering
436.3 Km of city drive test, 28 Hotspot locations, 4.4 Km of walk test, 363.6 Km of Highway drive
test, and 107.3 Km Railway drive test. Technologies evaluated included 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G, reflecting
the service experience of users across multiple handset capabilities. The findings of the IDT have already
been intimated to all the TSPs concerned.
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.
The overall mobile network performance in city routes of North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts in the
State of West Bengal in West Bengal LSA is summarized below:
Call Setup Success Rate- Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have call setup success rate of 96.66%, 83.79%,
99.72% and 99.91% respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Drop Call Rate Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have drop call rate of 0.00%, 5.85%, 0.55% and 0.55%
respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).5G Data Services delivered maximum average download speed of 212.68 Mbps and maximum average
upload speed of 28.09 Mbps in the overall city drive test.
The poor Signal Strength in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G) has been observed during drive test as
per detailed below
Type of Drive % of samples having poor signal strength
Test in auto-
selection mode Voice testing Data testing
(5G/4G/3G/2G)
Airtel BSNL RJIL VIL Airtel BSNL RJIL VIL
City 1.60% 34.01% 2.13% 5.91% 11.36% 29.72% 9.87% 17.10%
Highway 0.47% 27.80% 0.55% 1.49% 6.68% 27.99% 8.28% 6.32%
Railway 0.66% 8.17% 0.65% 2.97% 6.19% 35.51% 6.57% 8.94%
In North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts, the assessment included the areas of Habra, Kankpul, Sherpur
More, South Habra, Bagjola, Gurdaha, Kholapota, Berachampa, Haroa, Minakhan, Nazat, Kharampur,
Hasnabad, Basirhat, Akharpur, Aturia, Tentulia, Maslandapur, Dhakuria, Angrail, Bangaon, Chakdaha,
Simurali, Ranaghat, Birnagar, Krishananagar, Gobindapur, Badkulla, Kanthaliamath and Mayapur etc. and
for Highway from Barasat to Raiganj passing through Amdanga, Ranaghat, Krishnanagar, Debagram,
Bhabta, Morgram, Sadikpur, Farakka, Gazole and Rupahar etc.
TRAI also evaluated real-world conditions at (i) Ashoknagar State General Hospital Ashoknagar
Kalyangarh, (ii) Basirhat Court Basirhat, (iii) Basirhat Super Speciality Hospital Itinda Basirhat, (iv)
Beldanga-I B.D.O. Office Sarulia, (v) Bethuadahari Wildlife Sanctuary, Segun Bagan Rd, Rajendranagar,
(vi) Bongaon S. D. Hospital Dr. J. R. Dhar Chakdaha Champaberia Bangaon, (vii) Central Sericulture
Raninagar Chuapur Berhampore, (viii) Dhaanyaganga Krishi Vigyan Kendra Sargachi Mission Bus Stop
NH 12 Sargachhi Mahishasthali (ix) Fulia Tant Saree Hat NH 12 Belemath Phulia, (x) Gobardanga Hindu
College Jamdani Gobardanga, (xi) JMN Medical College and Hospital Panchpota Chakdaha Ektarpur,
(xii) Kaliachak-I B.D.O. Office Malda Baliadanga, (xiii) Krishnagar Collegiate School Rabindra Nath
Tagore Rd Krishnanagar, (xiv) Krishnanagar Head Post Office Rn Tagore Road More Krishnanagar, (xv)
Krishnanagar Palace Krishnanagar, (xvi) Kulik Bird & Wildlife Sanctuary NH 12 Raiganj Soharai, (xvii)
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology Haringhata Farm, (xviii) Raiganj Government
Medical College and Hospital, (xix) Raiganj Post Office, (xx) Ranaghat College Old Berhampore Rd
Ranaghat, (xxi) Ranaghat Session Court Ranaghat, (xxii) Ranaghat Sub-Divisional Hospital Sreenath Pur
Ranaghat, (xxiii) Santipur Hat Santipur, (xxiv) Santipur State General Hospital Santipur, (xxv) Sree
Chaitanya College Habra Bokavhoda Habra, (xxvi) Sujapur Primary Health Centre Sujapur, (xxvii) Taki
Ramakrishna Mission High School Taki, (xxviii) Thakurnagar Thakurbari Thakurnagar Chikanpara;
through static testing and at (i) Krishnanagar City Junction Railway Station Krishnanagar, (ii)
Krishnanagar Sadar District Hospital Ranaghat - Krishnanagar Byp, (iii) Mayapur Iskon Mandir
Chaitanya Bhawan Bbt Rd Mayapur, (iv) Ranaghat Junction Railway Station Ranaghat through walk-
test.Performance against key QoS parameters:
Summary-Data services
Data Download performance (Overall): Average download speed of Airtel (5G/4G) is 120.39 Mbps,
BSNL (4G/3G/2G) is 12.50 Mbps, RJIL (5G/4G) is 212.68 Mbps and VIL (5G/4G/2G) is 23.36 Mbps.
Data Upload performance (Overall): Average upload speed of Airtel (5G/4G) is 28.09 Mbps, BSNL
(4G/3G/2G) is 4.06 Mbps, RJIL (5G/4G) is 25.87 Mbps and VIL (5G/4G/2G) is 13.73 Mbps.
Latency (Overall): Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL 50th percentile latency is 56.37 ms, 51.24 ms, 42.29
ms, 46.67 ms respectively.
Data performance - Hotspots (in Mbps):
Airtel- 4G D/L: 43.28 4G U/L: 6.97
5G D/L: 181.53 5G U/L: 36.97
BSNL- 4G D/L: 12.01 4G U/L: 3.95
RJIL- 4G D/L: 50.08 4G U/L: 13.64
5G D/L: 242.15 5G U/L: 29.64
VIL- 4G D/L: 16.20 4G U/L: 9.44
Note- “D/L” Download speed, “U/L” Upload speed
Summary-Voice services
Call Setup Success Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have 96.66%, 83.79%, 99.72% and 99.91% 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 1.84, 6.33, 0.62 and 0.99
seconds respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Drop Call Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have drop call rate of 0.00%, 5.85%, 0.55% and 0.55%
respectively in Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G).
Call Silence/Mute Rate: Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have silence call rate of 0.15%, 3.26%, 0.75%
and 1.00% respectively in packet switched network (4G/5G).
Mean Opinion Score (MOS): Airtel, BSNL, RJIL and VIL have average MOS of 4.02, 3.13, 4.52 and
4.45 respectively.
CSSR: Call Setup Success Rate (in %), CST: Call Setup Time (in seconds), DCR: Drop Call Rate (in %)
& MOS: Mean Opinion Score.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 Kaushik Mukherjee, Advisor (Regional Office, Kolkata) TRAI may be
contacted on email: adv.kolkata@trai.gov.in or at Tel. No. +91-33-22361401.
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