Reliance Jio emerged as the fastest mobile network operator in parts of Arunachal Pradesh, delivering download speeds of 103.49 Mbps in city tests and 85.84 Mbps along National Highway 13, according to the latest drive test conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Bharti Airtel ranked second in download performance but led upload speeds across both city and highway routes. BSNL and Vodafone Idea recorded significantly weaker network performance, particularly in coverage and call drops.
The TRAI report, released on November 5, 2026, assessed mobile network quality across parts of Lohit district and the Silluk-Tin-Ali–Tohangam highway corridor in Arunachal Pradesh.
TRAI conducted the tests from September 7 to September 10, 2026, covering 247.3 kilometres of city routes, 154.8 kilometres of highways, 13 hotspots and 1.2 kilometres of walk tests.
Reliance Jio Leads Mobile Download Speeds
Reliance Jio recorded the highest average download speed of 103.49 Mbps during city drive tests, compared with 61.75 Mbps for Airtel, 18.20 Mbps for Vodafone Idea and 2.27 Mbps for BSNL.
Jio’s city download performance was approximately 68 percent faster than Airtel, nearly 5.7 times Vodafone Idea’s speed and 45.6 times BSNL’s speed.
Along the NH-13 highway corridor, Reliance Jio maintained its lead with 85.84 Mbps, followed by Airtel at 61.33 Mbps, Vodafone Idea at 32.99 Mbps and BSNL at 2.34 Mbps.
Airtel Leads Upload Speeds Across City and Highway Routes
Bharti Airtel delivered the fastest upload performance in both testing environments.
Airtel recorded 12.40 Mbps average upload throughput in city tests, compared with 7.08 Mbps for Reliance Jio, 4.84 Mbps for Vodafone Idea and 3.06 Mbps for BSNL.
On the highway route, Airtel maintained its lead at 11.65 Mbps, followed by Vodafone Idea at 7.05 Mbps, Reliance Jio at 5.02 Mbps and BSNL at 2.29 Mbps.
Airtel’s city upload speed was approximately 75 percent higher than Jio’s, while its highway upload speed was more than twice Jio’s measured performance.
Vodafone Idea also outperformed Reliance Jio in highway upload speeds despite trailing the operator in download throughput.
Reliance Jio Records Lowest Call Drop Rate in City Tests
Reliance Jio delivered the strongest call retention performance in city drive tests, recording just one dropped call from 270 successfully established calls.
Jio’s call drop rate was approximately 0.37 percent, compared with 4.43 percent for Airtel, 5.97 percent for BSNL and 10.83 percent for Vodafone Idea.
On the NH-13 highway route, Reliance Jio again recorded the lowest dropped call rate at 8.64 percent.
Airtel registered a highway call drop rate of 19.35 percent, followed by Vodafone Idea at 25 percent and BSNL at 30 percent.
TRAI Call Drop Performance Comparison
| Operator | City call drop rate | Highway call drop rate |
| Reliance Jio | 0.37% | 8.64% |
| Bharti Airtel | 4.43% | 19.35% |
| BSNL | 5.97% | 30.00% |
| Vodafone Idea | 10.83% | 25.00% |
The findings indicate substantial differences in voice network reliability between city routes and highway locations.
Airtel and Jio Lead Network Coverage Performance
TRAI’s coverage measurements showed that Airtel recorded the lowest proportion of poor-signal samples during city drive tests.
Airtel registered 8,393 poor-signal samples from 37,595 samples collected, representing 22.33 percent.
Reliance Jio recorded 10,750 poor-signal samples from 37,912 samples, equivalent to 28.36 percent.
BSNL recorded a poor-signal rate of 42.82 percent, while Vodafone Idea registered 60.29 percent.
On the highway route, Airtel again recorded the lowest poor-signal proportion at 31.81 percent, followed by Reliance Jio at 41.11 percent, BSNL at 60.98 percent and Vodafone Idea at 82.38 percent.
Network Coverage Gaps in Arunachal Pradesh
| Operator | City poor-signal rate | Highway poor-signal rate |
| Bharti Airtel | 22.33% | 31.81% |
| Reliance Jio | 28.36% | 41.11% |
| BSNL | 42.82% | 60.98% |
| Vodafone Idea | 60.29% | 82.38% |
TRAI also measured samples with limited service or no coverage.
In city tests, Airtel recorded 2,335 no-coverage samples, compared with 2,597 for Reliance Jio, 6,002 for BSNL and 10,875 for Vodafone Idea.
On the highway route, Reliance Jio recorded only 121 no-coverage samples out of 15,123 samples, the lowest proportion among the four operators.
Airtel recorded 2,111 no-coverage samples, followed by BSNL with 3,251 and Vodafone Idea with 4,610.
Jio’s highway no-coverage rate was approximately 0.80 percent, compared with 18.93 percent for Airtel, 33.25 percent for BSNL and 76.49 percent for Vodafone Idea.
Reliance Jio Records Higher Call Silence Instances
Despite leading download speeds and call retention, Reliance Jio recorded the highest number of call silence instances lasting more than three seconds.
During city tests, Jio registered 40 silence instances across 237 established calls.
Airtel recorded eight instances across 245 calls, BSNL six across 159 calls and Vodafone Idea two across 98 calls.
On the highway route, Jio recorded 14 silence instances across 43 calls, compared with four for Airtel across 58 calls, one for BSNL across 31 calls and zero for Vodafone Idea across eight calls.
These findings show that Jio’s stronger download performance and lower call drop rates did not translate into the fewest voice silence interruptions.
TRAI Tests Mobile Networks Across Lohit District and NH-13
The city drive tests covered Sunpura, New Hati Duba, Chongkham, Kherem, Medo, Lamliang, Brahmakund, Hawa Camp, Demwe, Telluliang New, Loiliang, Lohitpur, 43rd Mile and Tezu Gam.
The highway tests covered the Silluk-Tin-Ali–Tohangam corridor along NH-13, including Dambuk, Bomjir, Roing, Abali, Abongo, Koronu, Bhismaknagar, Telluliang New and Demwe.
Additional stationary tests were conducted at 13 hotspot locations, including government offices, educational institutions, public facilities and Tezu Main Bazaar.
TRAI Arunachal Pradesh Network Performance: Key Findings
The September 2026 drive tests identified distinct performance strengths and weaknesses among the four telecom operators.
Reliance Jio led download speeds across city and highway routes, recorded the lowest call drop rates and delivered the lowest no-coverage proportion on the highway. However, Jio registered more call silence instances than competing operators.
Bharti Airtel delivered the fastest upload speeds and the lowest poor-signal rates in both city and highway testing.
Vodafone Idea recorded higher highway upload throughput than Reliance Jio but experienced the highest city call drop rate and the highest proportion of poor-signal and no-coverage samples.
BSNL recorded the slowest download speeds in both environments and the highest highway call drop rate at 30 percent.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
