TRAI’s mobile network report: Jio, Airtel, or Vodafone – which operator delivered best call & data performance?

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday released findings from independent drive tests (IDTs) assessing mobile network quality across nine cities, highways, and railway routes in December 2024. The report revealed disparities in voice and data service performance among major telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, and state-run BSNL/MTNL.

The drive tests were conducted in Aligarh, Bhubaneswar, Jammu, Lucknow, Navi Mumbai, Raipur, Siliguri, Thiruvananthapuram, and along major transportation routes such as the Jammu-Srinagar highway and the Meerut-Dehradun railway corridor. The assessment measured key performance indicators (KPIs) including call setup success rates, call drop rates, voice quality, data speeds, and network latency.

Mixed performance across operators

TRAI’s findings highlighted stark differences in network reliability. Airtel and Jio consistently delivered high call setup success rates above 97% in most locations, while BSNL lagged, particularly in Bhubaneswar (51.5%) and Navi Mumbai (43.8%). Vodafone Idea demonstrated strong voice service performance in some regions, achieving a 100% call setup success rate in Lucknow and Bhubaneswar.

Call drop rates remained a concern for BSNL, exceeding TRAI’s 2% benchmark in several areas, including 5.5% in Aligarh and 5.8% on the Fatehpur-Varanasi highway. State-run MTNL fared worse in Navi Mumbai, where its call drop rate stood at 21.4%, far higher than its private competitors, which reported near-zero call drops in the same area.

Data speed disparities

Data service assessments revealed major performance gaps between operators. Jio recorded the highest download speeds, peaking at 416 Mbps in Jammu and 321 Mbps in Lucknow. Airtel followed closely with speeds exceeding 150 Mbps in several locations. Vodafone Idea and BSNL trailed behind, with speeds as low as 3.8 Mbps and 7.3 Mbps, respectively, in Bhubaneswar and Aligarh.

Upload speeds showed a similar trend, with Jio and Airtel reaching over 30 Mbps in several locations, while BSNL and Vodafone Idea recorded slower rates, often below 20 Mbps. MTNL struggled the most, with an upload speed of just 0.46 Mbps in Navi Mumbai.

Region-wise findings

• In Aligarh and Meerut-Dehradun railway route, Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea achieved a call setup success rate of over 97%, while BSNL lagged at 90.23%. The call drop rate for BSNL was much higher at 5.50% against the benchmark of 2%. In data services, Airtel and Jio achieved high average download speeds of 165.91 Mbps and 260.08 Mbps, respectively, whereas BSNL recorded a modest 7.29 Mbps.

• In Bhubaneshwar, Vodafone Idea (100%) and Airtel (99.44%) had the highest call setup success rates, while BSNL was notably lower at 51.51%. Data speeds also varied widely, with Jio recording an average download speed of 236.83 Mbps, whereas BSNL remained at 3.86 Mbps.

• Jammu and the Jammu-Srinagar highway showed a call drop rate above the benchmark for BSNL (4.99%). Data speeds were significantly better for Airtel (185.10 Mbps) and Jio(416.35 Mbps) compared to BSNL (2.90 Mbps).

• In Lucknow and the Fatehpur-Varanasi highway, BSNL had the highest call drop rate at 5.85%, while Airtel and Jio maintained near-perfect call success rates. In data services, Jio led with 321.41 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 129.46 Mbps.

• Navi Mumbai saw MTNL struggling with a call setup success rate of only 43.81% and an extremely high call drop rate of 21.41%. Data speeds for MTNL were also the lowest at 0.54 Mbps, while Jio achieved 319.93 Mbps.

• Raipur reported stable voice services, with Airtel, RJIL, and VIL achieving a 100% call setup success rate. Data download speeds were led by Jio (253.76 Mbps) and Airtel (109.92 Mbps), while BSNL lagged at 4.06 Mbps.

• In Siliguri, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong, BSNL had a high call drop rate of 6.56%, while Airtel performed best in voice service quality. Data services saw Airtel and Jio recording 82.61 Mbps and 110.99 Mbps, respectively, compared to BSNL’s 1.92 Mbps.

• Thiruvananthapuram reported a call drop rate of 3.61% for BSNL, higher than the QoS benchmark. Data speeds were led by Jio (256.21 Mbps), while BSNL trailed at 6.02 Mbps.