TRAI Releases Mobile Network Quality Assessment Findings for Select Uttar Pradesh Regions

Overview of Independent Drive Tests

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has published the findings of its Independent Drive Tests (IDTs) conducted in September 2026. The testing evaluated mobile network services, covering voice and data performance across Gonda, Bahraich, Shravasti, and Balrampur cities, along with connecting highway routes in the Uttar Pradesh East (UPE) Licensed Service Area (LSA). Supervised by the TRAI Regional Office in Bhopal, the assessments aim to inform consumers about real-time network conditions and encourage Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to improve service delivery.

Scope and Testing Methodology

The evaluation covered a combined city drive of 367.7 kilometers, a 2.7-kilometer walk test in Gonda and Balrampur cities, and a 256-kilometer highway drive spanning Prayagraj to Gonda and Gonda to Bahraich. Testing took place between September 7 and September 10, 2026.

The drive tests measured key Quality of Service (QoS) parameters, including:

• Coverage Gap: Percentage of samples where signal strength fell below the minimum prescribed thresholds for respective technologies (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G).
• Voice Services: Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), Call Setup Time, and speech quality via Mean Opinion Score (MOS).
• Call Silence Instances: Number of occurrences where call audio went silent for more than three seconds.
• Data Services: Download and upload throughput, network latency, jitter, and packet drop rates.

Summary of Key Findings

The reported metrics reflect network performance specifically on the tested routes and areas during the evaluation period.

• Coverage Gaps: Signal strength samples below standard thresholds varied among operators. For instance, in Gonda City, poor signal samples out of total captured samples were recorded as 818 out of 19,284 for Airtel; 7,289 out of 16,823 for BSNL; 919 out of 18,995 for RJIL; and 1,775 out of 19,266 for VIL.
• Dropped Calls: Out of successfully established calls in Gonda City, dropped calls were logged at 1 for Airtel, 23 for BSNL, 0 for RJIL, and 0 for VIL.
• Data Throughput: Average download speeds varied significantly across providers. In Gonda City, average download throughput reached 94.98 Mbps for Airtel (5G), 1.15 Mbps for BSNL (4G), 167.44 Mbps for RJIL (5G), and 34.31 Mbps for VIL (5G).

Practical Implications and Verification

Consumers can review detailed route maps and location-specific data points, including exact coordinates for dropped calls and call silence instances, through the official TRAI release documentation. Stakeholders seeking to verify the original announcements can access Press Release No. 141 on the official TRAI website (trai.gov.in).