Ahmedabad: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released findings of an Independent Drive Test (IDT) conducted on the Jodhpur to Ahmedabad Rail Route (Rajasthan & Gujarat LSA) during the month of May 2026, for the information of general telecom consumers. The purpose of this drive test is to assess and verify real-time quality of mobile network services (both voice & data) provided by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs). During the IDT, TRAI captures the performance of TSPs for key Quality of Service (QoS) parameters like Coverage, Call Drop Rate (CDR), Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), data Download (DL) and Upload (UL) throughput, etc., which are then published to inform consumers and encourage TSPs to improve their services.

These IDTs have been designed to capture on-ground mobile network performance of all TSPs across diverse usage environments like cities, 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.

TRAI, through its appointed agency, conducted drive tests from the Jodhpur to Ahmedabad Rail Route on 4th May 2026, covering 456.9 km (Rajasthan & Gujarat LSA). These tests were conducted under the supervision of the TRAI Regional Office, Jaipur. The observations presented in the drive test reports represent the performance of the TSPs on the area/route under test on the day/time of conducting the drive test.

Key Parameters Assessed:

Coverage Gap: Percentage of samples for which the signal strength observed was less than the minimum prescribed signal strength for the respective technology (2G/3G/4G/5G).

Voice Services: Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), Call Setup Time, Call Silence Rate, Speech Quality (MOS).

Data Services: Download/Upload Throughput, Latency, Jitter, Packet Drop Rate.

The overall mobile network performance on the Jodhpur to Ahmedabad Rail Route (Rajasthan & Gujarat LSA) for the key parameters has been summarised below:

Coverage Gap – The signal strength observed during voice testing on the drive test route in auto-selection mode (5G/4G/3G/2G), measured as the number of samples having poor signal strength out of the total samples collected, was 1843/26319 for Airtel, 7368/23625 for BSNL, 685/26136 for RJIL, and 5150/25817 for VIL.

Dropped Calls – Dropped calls, measured as the number of dropped calls out of the number of successfully established calls, were 0/130 for Airtel, 15/122 for BSNL, 0/130 for RJIL, and 4/126 for VIL.

Data Download and Upload Throughput:

Data Download Performance (Overall): Average download speed was observed as 48.53 Mbps for Airtel (5G/4G), 7.95 Mbps for BSNL (4G/3G/2G), 89.61 Mbps for RJIL (5G/4G), and 12.71 Mbps for VIL (5G/4G/2G).

Data Upload Performance (Overall): Average upload speed was observed as 11.69 Mbps for Airtel (5G/4G), 3.76 Mbps for BSNL (4G/3G/2G), 9.06 Mbps for RJIL (5G/4G), and 8.81 Mbps for VIL (5G/4G/2G).

Details of the drive test route and area covered during the IDT are as under:

Railway: Jodhpur to Ahmedabad, passing through Bhagat Ki Kothi, Luni Junction, Dundara, Samdari Junction, Mokalsar, Jalor, Modran, Marwar Bhinmal, Raniwara, Dhanera, Bhildi Junction, Patan, and Mehsana Junction, etc.