New Delhi, 30 October (H.S.): The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the findings of its Independent Drive Tests (IDTs), assessing mobile network service quality in Hyderabad, the Adoni-Mantralayam region of Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, and several locations across Ladakh, including Leh, Nubra Valley and routes leading to Pangong Lake.

According to the findings, Reliance Jio (RJIL) recorded the highest average download speeds in several of the areas tested, while Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) reported the highest number of coverage gaps and dropped calls in certain locations.

According to the Ministry of Communications, TRAI conducted the assessments to provide telecom consumers with a clearer picture of actual network performance. The tests covered different cities, highways, hotspot locations, airports, hospitals and public places, evaluating the 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G networks of Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (VIL).

In Hyderabad and its adjoining areas, Reliance Jio topped the average download speed chart with 145.79 Mbps. Airtel recorded an average download speed of 82.88 Mbps, followed by Vodafone Idea at 41.41 Mbps and BSNL at 7.13 Mbps.

In terms of dropped calls, Airtel and Vodafone Idea recorded no call drops during the test, while BSNL registered four and Jio reported one.

A similar trend was observed in Adoni-Mantralayam and surrounding areas, where Reliance Jio recorded the highest average download speed of 209.11 Mbps. Airtel followed with 118.55 Mbps, while Vodafone Idea and BSNL registered average speeds of 12.27 Mbps and 10.19 Mbps, respectively.

BSNL recorded 15 dropped calls out of 317 successfully established calls in the region. Airtel and Jio reported no dropped calls, while Vodafone Idea registered six.

The report also identified the highest coverage gaps in BSNL’s network in the Adoni-Mantralayam region, while Airtel and Jio demonstrated comparatively better performance.

In Ladakh, tests conducted across Leh town, Nubra Valley, Pangong Lake and connecting highway routes indicated that Reliance Jio and Airtel delivered comparatively higher data speeds.

In Leh and its surrounding areas, Jio recorded an average download speed of 267.13 Mbps, while Airtel registered 121.65 Mbps. BSNL recorded an average speed of 8 Mbps.

However, all operators encountered coverage-related challenges along the highways connecting Leh with Nubra Valley and Nubra Valley with Pangong. The tests identified more frequent coverage gaps and dropped calls in high-altitude stretches. Despite these challenges, Airtel and Jio delivered better data-speed performance than BSNL in the areas assessed.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar