TRAI Drive Test Reveals 5G Speed Gains but Persistent Gaps in BSNL Network for West Bengal

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its latest Independent Drive Test (IDT) findings for the West Bengal Licensed Service Area (LSA), highlighting strong 5G performance by private operators alongside continued gaps in network quality—particularly for BSNL.

The extensive field assessment, conducted in February 2026, covered urban clusters, highways, railway routes, and key institutional hotspots across North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts, offering a comprehensive real-world snapshot of mobile network performance.

Large-Scale Field Testing Across Diverse Environments

TRAI conducted tests between February 10 and 21, 2026, covering:

• 436.3 km of city routes

• 363.6 km of highway (NH-12: Barasat to Raiganj)

• 107.3 km of railway routes (Howrah–Bardhaman via Bandel)

• 28 hotspot locations and institutional zones

• 4.4 km of walk tests

The study evaluated 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G technologies, reflecting actual user experiences across multiple devices and usage scenarios.

5G Delivers High Speeds, RJIL Leads Performance

The findings show strong performance in 5G data services:

• Maximum average download speed: 212.68 Mbps (RJIL)

• Maximum average upload speed: 28.09 Mbps

Overall data performance (average speeds):

• RJIL (Jio): 212.68 Mbps download, 25.87 Mbps upload

• Airtel: 120.39 Mbps download, 28.09 Mbps upload

• VIL: 23.36 Mbps download, 13.73 Mbps upload

• BSNL: 12.50 Mbps download, 4.06 Mbps upload

In hotspot zones, 5G speeds reached:

• RJIL: 242.15 Mbps download

• Airtel: 181.53 Mbps download

These results indicate rapid improvement in high-speed mobile data capabilities, particularly among private operators.

Voice Performance: High Success Rates, Except BSNL

Voice service quality remained strong across most operators:

• Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR):

  • VIL: 99.91%

  • RJIL: 99.72%

  • Airtel: 96.66%

  • BSNL: 83.79%

• Drop Call Rate:

  • Airtel: 0.00%

  • RJIL & VIL: 0.55%

  • BSNL: 5.85%

• Call Setup Time:

  • Fastest: RJIL (0.62 sec), VIL (0.99 sec)

  • Slowest: BSNL (6.33 sec)

• Voice Quality (MOS):

  • RJIL: 4.52

  • VIL: 4.45

  • Airtel: 4.02

  • BSNL: 3.13

These figures suggest that while private telecom providers maintain high reliability, BSNL continues to lag in voice performance metrics.

Signal Strength Issues Persist, Especially for BSNL

The study identified significant disparities in signal strength:

• City voice tests (poor signal):

  • BSNL: 34.01%

  • Airtel: 1.60%

  • RJIL: 2.13%

  • VIL: 5.91%

• Highway and railway routes also showed higher signal issues for BSNL, impacting both voice and data quality.

This highlights ongoing infrastructure challenges in network coverage and consistency.

Real-World Testing Across Public Spaces

TRAI evaluated network performance in key public and institutional locations, including:

• Hospitals and courts

• Educational institutions

• Wildlife sanctuaries and markets

• Railway stations and pilgrimage centres

This ensures that findings reflect actual user experiences in high-footfall and critical service areas.

Key Takeaways

• Private operators (RJIL, Airtel, VIL) show strong performance in both 5G data and voice services

• RJIL leads in data speeds, especially in 5G deployment

• BSNL faces significant challenges in speed, signal strength and call reliability

• Network performance varies across urban, highway and railway environments

Implications for India's Telecom Landscape

The findings underscore:

• The growing maturity of 5G networks in India

• The need for continued infrastructure upgrades by lagging operators

• The importance of real-world performance monitoring for policy and regulatory decisions

As India accelerates its digital transformation, such independent assessments play a crucial role in ensuring quality, competition and consumer experience across the telecom sector.