**Executive Summary**
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released the findings of Independent Drive Tests (IDT) conducted between February 2 and February 6, 2026, to assess mobile network quality in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and the Vadodara-Ahmedabad Highway. The report provides a performance comparison of major Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) across voice and data KPIs for 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks. These findings have been shared with TSPs to facilitate necessary corrective actions to improve service quality.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Testing Methodology and Scope**
* Tests were conducted by an appointed agency under the supervision of TRAI’s Regional Office, Jaipur.
* The assessment covered 462.4 km of city drives, 14 hotspot locations, a 2.5 km walk test, and 95.3 km along the Vadodara to Ahmedabad Highway.
* Performance was measured using advanced test handsets and software to establish live sessions across all TSPs (Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, and VIL).
**Voice Service Performance (Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar)**
* **Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR):** Airtel achieved 100%, followed by RJIL (99.86%) and VIL (99.72%), while BSNL recorded a lower rate of 81.91%.
* **Drop Call Rate:** BSNL recorded a 2.61% drop call rate, whereas Airtel, RJIL, and VIL maintained 0.00%.
* **Quality Scores:** RJIL (4.53) and VIL (4.51) led in Mean Opinion Score (MOS), with BSNL scoring the lowest at 3.12.
**Data Service Performance (Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar)**
* **5G Throughput:** RJIL recorded the highest average 5G download speed at 258.16 Mbps; BSNL 5G data was not available (NA).
* **4G Throughput:** Airtel led 4G download speeds at 47.24 Mbps, while BSNL recorded 18.05 Mbps.
* **Latency:** RJIL showed the lowest latency at 19.72 ms, compared to BSNL’s 42.03 ms.
**Highway Performance (Vadodara to Ahmedabad Highway)**
* **Voice Quality:** BSNL faced significant issues on the highway with a 22.73% drop call rate and an 89.80% Call Setup Success Rate. Other providers maintained 100% success rates.
* **Data Speeds:** RJIL recorded the highest average download throughput of 191.73 Mbps, while BSNL recorded the lowest at 5.68 Mbps.
* **Latency:** Latency was lowest on RJIL (20.97 ms) and highest on BSNL (47.44 ms).
**Impact Analysis**
**Telecom Service Providers (Airtel, BSNL, RJIL, VIL)**
**Impact**
The providers are presented with objective, real-world data regarding their network strengths and technical failures (such as BSNL's high drop call rates on the highway and call silence rates in cities).
**Action Required**
TSPs must review the shared IDT findings and take necessary remedial actions to address the identified performance gaps in both voice and data services.
**General Telecom Consumers**
**Impact**
Consumers are provided with transparent, comparative data to understand the network performance of different TSPs in the Gujarat LSA.
**Action Required**
Consumers can use these findings to make informed decisions regarding their choice of service provider based on regional performance.
**TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)**
**Impact**
The authority has established a performance baseline for the region and fulfilled its role in monitoring Quality of Service (QoS).
**Action Required**
The Regional Office in Jaipur remains available to provide clarifications and will continue to host the detailed report on the official TRAI website.
Key Entities Referenced
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI): The primary regulatory body that conducted and released the findings of the mobile network quality assessment.
Independent Drive Test (IDT): The assessment initiative used to capture real-world mobile network performance metrics for voice and data services across various network generations.
Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Vadodara (Gujarat): The central cities and highway corridor in the Gujarat Licensed Service Area where the network quality tests were conducted.
Ministry of Communications: The parent ministry responsible for overseeing telecommunications and under which the network assessment was published.
Ministry of Communications
TRAI Assesses Quality of Mobile Network across
Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar Cities & Vadodara to
Ahmedabad Highway (Gujarat)
Posted On: 25 MAR 2026 12:02PM by PIB Delhi
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released findings of Independent Drive Test (IDT)
conducted across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar Cities & Vadodara to Ahmedabad Highway (In Gujarat LSA),
during the month of Feb 2026, for information of general telecom consumers.
These IDT have been designed to capture real-world mobile network performance of all Telecom Service
Providers (TSPs) across diverse usages environment –Urban zones, hotspots, public transport hubs, etc. In
this type of Drive testing, live data and voice sessions are established using SIM cards from all TSPs over
2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks. Multiple advanced test handsets are used and the sessions are monitored and
analysed in real-time using advanced Software Systems. The data collected during the drive test is further
analysed using specialized tools, and the final report is prepared based on this analysis.
TRAI, through its appointed agency, conducted detailed drive tests across city drive of 462.4 Kms, 14
Hotspot locations, Walk Test of 2.5 Kms in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar Cities & Vadodara to Ahmedabad
Highway of 95.3 Kms during 02-02-2026 to 06-02-2026 in Gujarat LSA. These tests were conducted under
the supervision of the TRAI Regional Office, Jaipur.
During the IDT, various Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of Mobile Network for Voice as well as Data
service were assessed for all Telecom Service Providers operating in the region. A summary of findings is
given as below:
a. Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar Cities:
Voice Services
S.No. KPIs Measured AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL
(Auto-selection mode in
(5G/4G/3G/2G)
1 Call Setup Success Rate % % 100.00 81.91 99.86 99.722 Drop Call Rate % % 0.00 2.61 0.00 0.00
3 Call Setup Time Average sec 0.89 2.21 0.50 0.63
(Second)
4 Call Silence rate (Mute Call) % 0.00 5.03 0.29 0.71
5 Mean Opinion Score (MOS) 1-5 4.00 3.12 4.53 4.51
(ii) Data Services:
S.No. KPIs Measured AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL
in
1 Average Download (Mbits/s) 121.09 NA 258.16 55.09
Throughput 5G
2 Average Upload Throughput (Mbits/s) 34.66 NA 39.19 23.15
5G
3 Average Download (Mbits/s) 47.24 18.05 41.81 31.97
Throughput 4G
4 Average Upload Throughput (Mbits/s) 7.15 6.50 8.50 12.76
4G
5 Latency ( 50th percentile ) in ms 32.55 42.03 19.72 21.39
b. Vadodara to Ahmedabad Highway:
(i) Voice Services:
S.No. KPIs Measured AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL
(Auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G) in
1 Call Setup Success Rate % % 100.00 89.80 100.00 100.00
2 Drop Call Rate % % 0.00 22.73 0.00 0.00
3 Call Setup Time Average (Second) sec 0.93 3.67 0.55 0.69
4 Call Silence rate (Mute Call) % 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
5 Mean Opinion Score (MOS) 1-5 3.80 2.66 4.50 4.45(ii) Data Services:
S.No. KPIs Measured AIRTEL BSNL RJIL VIL
in
1 Average Download Throughput (Mbits/s) 97.38 5.68 191.73 31.42
2 Average Upload Throughput (Mbits/s) 16.07 2.38 23.86 13.57
3 Latency ( 50th percentile ) in ms 39.86 47.44 20.97 25.53
The assessment in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar Cities & Vadodara to Ahmedabad Highway included areas of
Gandhinagar, Kolavada, Sector-26, Sector-30, Kudasan, Adalaj, Hansol, Girdhar Nagar, Piplaj, Govindwadi,
Vinzol, Navapura, Kathwada, Nanachiloda, Naroda, Bapunagar and Maninagar etc & Vadodara to
Ahmedabad via National Expressway 1, passing through Poicha, Chikodra, Nadiad, Modaj and Geratnagar
etc.
The findings of this IDT report have been shared with respective TSPs for taking further necessary action at
their end, if required. Detailed report of IDT is made available on the TRAI website at www.trai.gov.in. For
any clarification or additional information, an email can be sent to Regional office of TRAI at Jaipur on
Email id adv.jaipur@trai.gov.in.
*****
NJ/ARJ
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