TRAI Drive Test: Jio Leads 5G Speeds in Puducherry, Airtel Tops Call Success

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of its Independent Drive Test (IDT) for the Tamil Nadu Licensed Service Area covering Puducherry city and surrounding regions, offering a detailed assessment of mobile network performance across major telecom operators.

The tests, conducted between 5–7 February 2026 under the supervision of TRAI's Regional Office in Hyderabad, evaluated real-world performance of Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio (RJIL) and Vodafone Idea (VIL) across 313.2 km of drive routes and eight key hotspot locations.

The assessment covered 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G technologies, measuring voice and data performance across urban zones, institutional hubs and residential areas to reflect the actual experience of mobile users.

Jio Tops Data Speeds, Airtel Leads in Call Reliability

According to TRAI's findings, Reliance Jio recorded the highest average data download speed, while Airtel achieved a perfect call setup success rate during voice testing.

Average download speeds recorded were:

• RJIL (5G/4G): 253.84 Mbps

• Airtel (5G/4G/2G): 163.82 Mbps

• Vodafone Idea (4G/2G): 22.05 Mbps

• BSNL (4G/3G/2G): 12.71 Mbps

In upload speeds:

• Airtel: 27.94 Mbps

• RJIL: 16.92 Mbps

• Vodafone Idea: 13.03 Mbps

• BSNL: 5.11 Mbps

The report indicates that 5G deployments are significantly improving high-speed data connectivity, particularly for operators with broader 5G coverage.

Voice Service Performance

TRAI assessed several voice quality indicators including Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Call Setup Time (CST), Drop Call Rate (DCR), Call Silence Rate and Mean Opinion Score (MOS).

Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR):

• Airtel: 100.00%

• Vodafone Idea: 99.61%

• Reliance Jio: 98.84%

• BSNL: 90.91%

Call Setup Time:

• Reliance Jio: 0.71 seconds

• Airtel: 1.15 seconds

• Vodafone Idea: 1.86 seconds

• BSNL: 4.50 seconds

Drop Call Rate:

• Airtel: 0.00%

• Vodafone Idea: 0.00%

• Reliance Jio: 0.39%

• BSNL: 1.46%

Speech Quality and Network Stability

Speech quality was measured using the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) metric.

Average MOS scores:

• Reliance Jio: 4.45

• Vodafone Idea: 4.42

• Airtel: 4.00

• BSNL: 3.01

Poor signal strength during voice tests was recorded across small portions of the drive route:

• Airtel: 1.17%

• BSNL: 6.93%

• RJIL: 2.42%

• VIL: 1.60%

Data Latency and Network Performance

Latency — a critical indicator of network responsiveness — was also evaluated.

Median (50th percentile) latency results:

• RJIL: 25.94 ms

• Vodafone Idea: 32.81 ms

• Airtel: 41.50 ms

• BSNL: 42.47 ms

Lower latency is particularly important for 5G applications, video streaming, gaming and real-time communications.

Hotspot Testing Highlights 5G Performance

TRAI also conducted tests at eight high-traffic hotspot locations, including:

• Aurobindo Ashram / French Colony

• Auroville International Society

• JIPMER Medical College

• Pondicherry University

• Puducherry Airport

• Puducherry Bus Station

• Puducherry Railway Station

• Rajiv Gandhi Government Women and Children Hospital

Results from hotspot testing showed strong 5G performance from Airtel and Jio.

Hotspot performance:

Airtel

• 5G Download: 230.03 Mbps

• 5G Upload: 51.54 Mbps

RJIL

• 5G Download: 259.37 Mbps

• 5G Upload: 13.03 Mbps

Vodafone Idea (4G)

• Download: 17.76 Mbps

• Upload: 13.46 Mbps

BSNL (4G)

• Download: 6.97 Mbps

• Upload: 6.90 Mbps

Areas Covered in the Drive Test

The drive tests covered multiple areas across Puducherry city including:

Semmangalam, Sedarapet, Villianur, Lawspet, White Town, Muthialpet, Murungapakkam, Ariyankuppam, Thavalakuppam, Embalam, Bahour, Kanniakoil, Kalapet, Pillaichavady and Bommayapalayam.

Signal strength issues during data testing were observed in:

• RJIL: 15.35% of the route

• BSNL: 12.16%

• Airtel: 9.07%

• Vodafone Idea: 6.53%

Real-World Testing to Improve Telecom Services

TRAI said the tests were conducted using standardised protocols and specialised testing equipment to capture real-time user experiences across different network environments.

The findings have been shared with the respective telecom service providers (TSPs) to enable network improvements and enhance service quality.

The detailed report is available on the TRAI website.